Harworth looks to next seven months ‘with confidence’

Harworth Group is set to celebrate “strong progress” so far in 2017 at its annual general meeting today, largely buoyed by activity at its Logistics North development in Bolton.

Earlier this month, Harworth announced it had entered into an 80/20 joint venture with Lancashire County Pension Fund to deliver 564,000 sq ft of industrial units on 31 acres of land within the regeneration site. The 10 warehouses are expected to be built in 2017 and 2018.

Harworth is funding 20% of the acquisition and development costs, and said it will realise income from development and asset management, in addition to receipts from the sale of land.

Also at Logistics North, Whistl took a ten-year lease in January 2017 on a 225,000 sq ft warehouse, which had been forward funded by M&G Real Estate, triggering a promote fee for letting the building within six weeks of practical completion.

A statement ahead of the AGM said Harworth would maintain a push for “actively exploring transactions on the company’s most valuable sites, to capture development management, asset management and promotion fees from third parties.”

To aid its acquisitions strategy, in March Harworth raised £27.1m through placing 29m extra shares on the stock market, 9.99% of its overall share capital.

Looking forward, “Harworth moves into the final seven months of the year with confidence. Demand for new housing and commercial space, particularly for units under 100,000 sq ft, remains strong within the Company’s core regions. As in previous years, residential and commercial sales are expected to be weighted towards the second half of the current financial year.

“Overall, trading is in line with management’s expectations and the board remains confident in the company’s ability to deliver and grow shareholder value through the property cycle.”

Shares in Harworth Group were down 0.75p this morning to 99.25p.