Harworth Group's operating profit hits £45.8m following key acquisitions

Harworth Group plc, the Rotherham-based property regeneration and investment specialist, has released its results for the year ending 31 December 2016.

During this financial year, the Group reported an operating profit of £45.8m, compared to £37.9m at the same time last year. This included value gains of £43.7m (2015: £36.3m) and profit from operations of £2.2m (2015: £1.5m).

The Group completed six acquisitions, totalling £31.6m, including the 50% purchase of the investment vehicle that owns Gateway 45, Leeds’ largest live commercial development, and two North West business parks that are both fully-let.

The company’s portfolio now comprises the ownership or management of 22,000 acres on over 140 sites.

In addition, residential sales remained consistent throughout the year with 619 plots sold across 6 sites. Planning consent was also secured for 65 new plots and applications for a further 1,200 plots were submitted.

Across the portfolio, consents stand at over 9,500 plots with a further 8,000 plots in the planning pipeline.

Commercial sales were made at a number of sites, the highlight being the sale of 43.7 acres at Logistics North to Lidl UK for £22.5m. Across the portfolio, around 10m sq ft is consented on the Group’s land, with 1.9m sq ft of new applications submitted and a further 6.3m sq ft to be submitted.

Owen Michaelson, Harworth’s chief executive, said: “These are a strong set of results, reflecting our continued focus on maximising the value of our strategic land bank whilst simultaneously growing our income base through new lettings and acquisitions.

“We are particularly pleased by the progress made and value uplift we have seen from our flagship North West site, Logistics North in Bolton, and are pleased to have improved the quality of our income base over the year.

“We have a proven strategy to create value and the market fundamentals in our regions remain strong, giving us confidence in the future.”