Harworth reaps £41.2m with December sales
The regional property powerhouse sold six land parcels across Yorkshire and the Midlands to four housebuilders, comprising a total of 964 residential plots.
The December disposals brought Harworth’s total for the year to 1,170. A number of further land parcel sales are expected to complete in the coming months, as Harworth continues to promote its de-risked serviced residential land product to housebuilders.
In addition, the deals included Harworth’s first forward funding agreement with a registered provider as part of its affordable housing portfolio.
The largest disposal was in Killamarsh, close to Sheffield, sold jointly to Harron Homes and Homes by Honey, where 397 family homes are consented.
Yorkshire sites
Harron is also the buyer at Harworth’s Prince of Wales development in Pontefract, where permission is now in place for 141 homes as part o a wider regeneration of a former colliery site begun in 2013 and aiming for a 900-home community. Harron has delivered around half of the 400 homes built to date.
At Waverley in Rotherham, where Harworth is regenerating the former Orgreave colliery and coking works into more than 3,000 homes alongside the Advanced Manufacturing Park, extensive green space and amenities, land was sold to Homes by Honey to develop 54 family homes.
Harworth signed its first forward-funding agreement for its affordable housing portfolio, at Riverdale Park in Doncaster. Harworth entered into an agreement with Great Places, which manages 24,000 homes across the North West and Yorkshire, to develop 50 homes at the development. Under the terms of the agreement, Harworth has sold a land parcel to Great Places and will oversee the construction of the homes in return for a development management fee.
Lynda Shillaw, chief executive of Harworth, said: “Our large number of residential land sales at the end of 2023, all in line with or ahead of book values, demonstrates the continued strong demand for Harworth’s de-risked serviced residential land product from a wide range of housebuilders, and we are seeing strong sales momentum as we move into 2024.
“We are also pleased to have completed our first forward-funding agreement for our affordable housing portfolio, proving the appeal of our mixed tenure model. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver much-needed new homes across these regions.”
