Harworth Group sells agricultural land to focus on firm’s key projects

Land regeneration firm Harworth Group has sold four sites of restored agricultural land in Yorkshire and the North East at, or above, book value.
Matthew Smith, senior asset manager at HarworthMatthew Smith, senior asset manager at Harworth
Matthew Smith, senior asset manager at Harworth

The Rotherham-based firm has sold 265 acres of land in Northumberland and 48 acres of land in Wakefield for a total consideration of £946,000.

It sold the land through both its natural resources team and joint retained agents Savills and Fisher German.

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Harworth said none of these sites had any further development potential for either residential or employment use and their sale will free up management time to work on key value-adding projects.

It said the sales will support its strong financial position. As the end of September, the company had financial headroom of over £63m, providing "significant operational flexibility" during the Covid-19 pandemic and the capacity for selective acquisitions across the North of England and the Midlands.

Harworth is in the process of marketing and disposing of a further 1,000 acres of non-core restored agricultural or vacant land across the North of England and the Midlands during the remainder of 2020. Joint retained agents Savills and Fisher German will continue to act for Harworth, with further sales expected in November and December.

Matthew Smith, senior asset manager at Harworth, said: “Demand for our agricultural or vacant land across the UK has held up extremely well throughout 2020 and we are pleased that sales continue to be achieved ahead of book value.

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"We have a significant pipeline of further non-core sales which we are confident of completing on during the remainder of the year, which will further bolster the balance sheet as we navigate our way through and out of the pandemic.”

Richard Gadd, associate director at Fisher German, added: “A historically low supply of farmland to the market in 2020, coupled with pent up demand and new entrants seeking more rural investment opportunities, has resulted in some exceptional sale results across the UK.

"Amenity and lifestyle buyers have bolstered the market for more geographically remote opportunities, whilst farmers and investors are considering land holdings further afield due to the limited supply. We look forward to completing further sales for Harworth Group over the coming months.”

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