Harworth Group delists from stock exchange amid £632m takeover from DSA owner Peel
Yorkshire-based Harworth Group has officially de-listed from the London Stock Exchange after the company accepted a £632m takeover bid from fellow land developer Peel Group.
It comes after September saw Harworth's directors unanimously recommend that shareholders accept a “best and final offer” from Peel, which also owns Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Peel Group, through a BicCo subsidiary named Peel Pepper, previously said that if its takeover effort went ahead, it intended to take Harworth private.
Harworth said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today: “Harworth confirms that, with effect from 8.00am. today, 12 November 2026, the listing of the Harworth Shares on the Official List and their admission to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange have each been cancelled.”
Peel’s eventual takeover of Harworth came after a string of heated statements from the two firms throughout September.
Peel first launched its takeover bid for Harworth in August, with Harworth subsequently announcing plans to deliver cost savings of “at least” £7.4m in an effort to see off the bid.
Lifting its offer from from £583m to £599.77m in mid September, Peel said Harworth’s strategy to achieve cost savings was "lacking credibility”.
Harworth then responded by saying that Peel’s offer “fundamentally undervalues” the company.
In late September, the firm then advised shareholders to accept the offer from Peel after a string of increasing bids, which eventually valued the company at £632m.
Harworth said in a statement issued at the time: “The Harworth Directors, who have been so advised by Barclays and Peel Hunt as to the financial terms of the best and final offer, consider the terms to be fair and reasonable.”
Following the move, directors from Peel Group were appointed to the board of Harworth in early October, with a number of previous directors resigning.
Harworth was the property division of UK Coal, named after the Nottinghamshire village where the latter organisation was based.
Peel Group’s takeover of Harworth comes while the company is navigating a sale of the freehold of Doncaster Sheffield Airport to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).
SYMCA, led by South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, announced plans to take over the freehold of the airport site in October
The authority said earlier this week that a deal would be made at the “earliest opportunity “The purchase of the airport and surrounding sites is a complex legal transaction.
They added that the terms of the deal would remain confidential until it was completed.