Harworth on track for £1bn NDV target
The Yorkshire property group reported pre-tax profit of £14.8m for the first half of 2024, stating it has the largest industrial pipeline in its history, at 38.8m sq ft.
The over-arching goal stated at several reporting points by chief executive Lynda Shillaw in recent times has been to make Harworth a business with £1bn net disposal value by the end of 2027, a target that remains in sight.
Harworth’s NDV figure advanced by 3.5% to £687m. The group has completed, exchanged or is in heads of terms stage on 145% of budgeted land sales for the year.
Key to Harworth’s decision-making over the last 18 months has been divestment of older, less efficient stock and a focus on direct development.
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Sales of serviced land are also a key contributor, as seen in spectacular fashion with the £107m disposal at Skelton Grange in June, where tech giant Microsoft will build a hyperscale data centre. This deal contributed to operating profit rocketing by 164%, to £21.1m.
Along with the hefty industrial & logistics landbank – of which 1.8m sq ft is consented – the group has 26,639 plots for new homes in its pipeline, 500 of these now consented.
Across H1 2024, 357 plot sales of serviced land were achieved, reaping £24m, with a further 132 shifted post-reporting period. The group is also keen to grow its investment portfolio.
Chief executive Lynda Shillaw said: “We are cautiously optimistic that a combination of improving economic stability and supportive government policy will be beneficial for both the real estate sector and Harworth.
“In the near term we recognise market confidence could potentially be tempered by the extent of the steps taken by the Government to address the public funding deficit, but as a long-term investor Harworth is well versed in delivering performance through different policy environments.
“Ultimately, Harworth is a long-term through-the-cycle business and its extensive land pipeline, track record, specialist skillset and strong balance sheet sets us apart from our peers and enables us to maximise the value created from our sites for our shareholders.”
Within the region, Harworth has advanced a 1.5m sq ft logistics scheme on former colliery land at Gascoigne Wood near Selby – a project hailed as a “game-changer” in this video – while sales to residential developers at Waverley, the South Yorkshire neighbourhood being broguht about at the former Orgreave site, have also continued apace.
