Harworth on track as industrial pipeline nears 40m sq ft

Along with a hefty supply of logistics land, the Rotherham-headquartered regeneration specialist has more than 26,000 plots for homes in the works, it said in a trading update.

Providing an update ahead of its half-year results in early September, Harworth said that the highlight of the six-month period has been the conditional sale of 48 acres of serviced land at Skelton Grange near Leeds to Microsoft for £107m.

Planning permission has been achieved for 1.8m sq ft and 500 plots, and a further 1.5m sq ft and 150 plots post-period, alongside new draft allocations or allocations in Local Plans for 5.7m sq ft and 2,875 plots.

All that takes Harworth’s existing pipeline to 38,8m sq ft and 26,639 plots for new homes.

Chief executive Lynda Shillaw said: “Harworth has continued to deliver against its growth strategy to reach £1bn EPRA NDV by the end of 2027 and we recently announced our intention to grow the investment portfolio to £0.9bn by the end of 2029.

“This growth will largely be driven by our existing Industrial & Logistics pipeline, which now totals 38.8m sq ft. and will see the delivery of strategically positioned Grade A assets we intend to retain and hold.

“This has been another strong first half for planning approvals and land sales, the highlight being the exchange of contracts on a £107m serviced land sale to Microsoft at a significant premium to book value, our largest transaction to date.”

Harworth has continued to drive forward in the region: in June it secured consent for 1.5m sq ft in Selby, where it will bring forward the £190m rail-linked Gascoigne Wood Interchange project.

Shillaw continued: “We continue to see strong demand for Harworth’s serviced land and employment spaces, with the recent momentum in serviced land sales highlighting the strength of our markets and these sales provide a stable funding channel for our Industrial & Logistics development programme.

“The recently announced evolution of our strategy sets a clear direction for the Group. It reflects our strong conviction in the demand for Industrial & Logistics space in our regions which is underpinned by limited supply, and our ability to unlock the significant embedded value in our extensive development pipeline to meet our growth targets.”

• Hear from Harworth at Place’s Yorkshire Industrial & Logistics event, on Tuesday 15 October 2024 in Leeds.