Harworth Group plc (LON:HWG), a leading regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment, has announced that in the fourth quarter of 2024 it completed 1,896 Residential plot sales, with a headline sales value of £71.7 million, bringing total Residential plot sales for FY24 to 2,385 (2023: 1,170 plots) with a total headline sales value of £104.1 million (2023: £52.1 million). The volume of sales reflects the continued strong demand for Harworth’s de-risked serviced Residential land product as well as evidencing success of the Group’s strategy to accelerate delivery of its Residential sites and broaden its range of products. Alongside these Residential plot sales, as announced in December, Harworth also completed land sales at Skelton Grange (Phase 1, 27 acres) and Ansty (278 acres), for total headline sales value of £106.3 million.
Highlights
· The Q4 disposals were sold to national and regional housebuilders as well as registered providers of affordable housing and the total headline sales value was £71.7 million, plus additional PPA promote fees of £0.4 million
· Residential plot sales of 2,385 for the year (2023: 1,170) are in line with the Group’s strategic target of 2,000 plot sales per year on average and represents Harworth’s strongest Residential sales performance to date
· The sales, totalling a headline sales value of £104.1 million, were broadly in line with, or ahead of, June 2024 book values
· The Group’s extensive Residential land pipeline now totals 31,264 plots, and with 15% of that pipeline already consented, Harworth is well positioned to support delivery of the UK’s housing targets across our regions
Delivering on the Group’s strategy and supporting sustainable growth
· Achieving this volume of sales highlights the success of the Group in delivering on its strategic objective of accelerating Residential sales and broadening the range of Residential products, including the conclusion of the Group’s third forward funding development agreement to deliver a total of 287 affordable homes. These sales continue to evidence the strong demand for Harworth’s high quality serviced Residential land, and the proceeds are used as a source of funding for enabling investment into the Group’s Industrial & Logistics developments, land acquisitions, and partnerships to drive future growth.
· Alongside these land sales, the Group has also made Residential acquisitions to re-fill its pipeline, ensuring it is able to continue to operate at scale and to drive further value creation for stakeholders. These acquisitions include land at Stewartby, with a planning approval for 1,000 plots, and, in Strategic Partnership with landowners, part of an allocated site near Grimsby, for 3,044 plots. These bring the Group’s extensive Residential pipeline to 31,264 plots, of which 4,568 are already consented.
Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive of Harworth Group, commented: “Harworth had a busy fourth quarter in 2024, concluding nine Residential land sales, comprising 1,896 plots for £71.7 million. This takes the total plot sales for 2024 to a new annual Harworth record of 2,385 plots, generating £104.1 million of cash, split between upfront and deferred payments, and is in line with our strategic target of 2,000 per year on average. Throughout the year we continued to see healthy demand for our high quality de-risked serviced land, and notably we also completed two major land sales at our Skelton Grange and Ansty developments in December, for £106.3 million. The proceeds from these sales will be reinvested into our Industrial & Logistics development programme to continue creating value for our stakeholders.
“We are committed to delivering sustainable regeneration schemes, creating new communities in our regions, and supporting delivery of much needed high quality housing in the UK by accelerating delivery at our sites and broadening the range of our mixed tenure products, the latter seeing 582 of the year’s plots sales to affordable housing providers. Our approach to placemaking and strong collaboration with strategic partners is key to success on these developments, and our extensive consented pipeline of 4,568 plots positions us well to continue supporting growth in the UK.”
Key Residential transactions in Q4 2024
· The largest Residential transaction in Q4 was at Harworth’s Coalville development in Leicestershire, for 357 plots to Taylor Wimpey. The wider development occupies a 336-acre site and has outline planning consent for more than 2,000 homes, with land now sold for over 66% of these, together with a new supermarket, a 21-acre country park and a new 420-place forest primary school which has just been completed.
· At Simpson Park, Nottinghamshire, the Group sold 530 plots to Stonebridge and Bellway Homes, bringing the total plots sold to 1,159. Upon completion, the development is expected to include a mix of over 1,300 new Residential homes, retail and employment uses, a family pub, link road, open space and significant green infrastructure which all support the ongoing regeneration of the towns of Harworth and Bircotes.
· At Moss Nook, Merseyside, the Group completed sales of 295 plots to Torus, who will deliver a mixture of Build-to-Rent and Affordable Housing plots, bringing the total plots sold to 551. Alongside plans to deliver up to 900 new homes, this development includes a major spine road through the site that provides a safe and direct route to and from the town centre from the southwest of St. Helens, addressing local congestion issues.
· At Pheasant Hill Park, located on the former Rossington colliery site in South Yorkshire, the Group completed sales of 282 plots to Homes by Honey and Great Places, bringing the total plots sold to 927. This development forms a key part of a wider ‘Gateway to the Sheffield City region’ programme that is a game-changing proposition for Yorkshire’s economy. Upon completion, Pheasant Hill Park is expected to deliver up to 1,200 new homes in addition to a mix of commercial and community uses.
Financial calendar key dates
Harworth Group is scheduled to announce a Trading Update for the year ended 31 December 2024 on 28 January 2025, followed by its Preliminary Results announcement and Investor & Analyst Presentation on 18 March 2025.
