Harworth provides jobs boost for region by selling 669 plots for new homes

Harworth Group has provided a trading update for 2020 ahead of its preliminary results which will be announced on March 16 2021.

The group said it has delivered a strong operational performance in the second half of the year despite Covid-19 restrictions.

The statement added: "This, coupled with the indicative outcome of the independent valuation of the land and property portfolio, means that we anticipate that the financial performance resulting in group EPRA NDV at 31 December 2020 will be ahead of our expectations.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for the well-planned, high-quality residential and industrial developments that Harworth brings forward as master-developer.

"Harworth has seen resilient demand from its customers for its serviced land continue throughout 2020. In the final quarter, over 55 acres of serviced land comprising 669 residential plots and 41,800 sq. ft of commercial space were sold for a combined consideration of £33.6m, ahead of or in line with their 31 December 2019 book value. These sites are fundamental to supporting the ongoing regeneration of our regions through the delivery of new homes and jobs."

"Harworth completed land purchases totalling over 117 acres for a combined consideration of £7.0m and entered into two planning promotion agreements. These transactions grew the substantial long-term land pipeline which as at 31 December 2020 stood at 30,668 residential plots and 27.3m sq. ft of employment space (30 June 2020: 30,132 plots and 25.4m sq. ft).

In November, the group acquired an income-producing property at Knowsley for a total consideration of £26.0m, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.8%.

The statement added: "The group made continued progress on planning applications meaning that as at 31 December 2020, sites with over 1.2m sq. ft of employment space and over 2,500 residential plots were in the planning system awaiting determination.

"Our ongoing programme of commercial development added a further 26,117 sq. ft of pre-let income-producing commercial space to the Business Space portfolio and we commenced a new development at Logistics North."

"We have collected 92% of rent for the December quarter to date, including from the small number of tenants on payment plans. The pattern is in line with previous quarters and shows the resilience of the portfolio and tenant base."

Lynda Shillaw, the chief executive, commented: "We anticipate the 2020 closing group EPRA NDV to be ahead of our expectations, reflecting the quality of our serviced land, the strength of our underlying markets, diversity of our portfolio and the performance of our teams.

"Our regional markets in the North of England and the Midlands remain strong and I am confident that Harworth can play a key role in helping local and central government to deliver on their core agendas.

“I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to become chief executive of Harworth, given its strong purpose and highly skilled team who have shown real resilience and achievement throughout 2020.

"My first impressions are overwhelmingly positive: the strength of Harworth’s culture shines through as does the significant potential of both its operating platform and its unique land and property portfolio.

"I have taken the opportunity, when possible, to visit our sites and the sheer scale, complexity and potential of the projects that we bring forward through the cycle, such as Waverley, Ironbridge and Coalville, cannot fail to impress.

“There is still some way to go to get back to a normal business environment in 2021. Through what we have achieved in 2020, Harworth has already shown its resilience and we continue to progress schemes across our portfolio, remaining well-positioned to deploy our skills and scale to deliver growth and sustainable long-term shareholder returns.

"We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the business to ensure that we optimise the returns from our portfolio (including our pipeline) and deploy appropriately our expertise to capitalise on opportunities in the residential and industrial markets.

"This will build on our existing strengths and the key attributes that have positioned us to succeed. I look forward to leading Harworth through its next phase of growth. We have a strong track record of acquiring, assembling and developing our strategic landbank and an unrivalled focus on creating places where people want to live and work.”

In December, Harworth Group announced that two parcels of serviced residential land at its Waverley and Flass Lane developments in Yorkshire had been sold to Avant Homes.

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