Langtree bullish about long-term growth
The Warrington-based developer behind Sci Tech Daresbury and the regeneration of Parkside Colliery has reported a £2.3m profit for the 12 months ended 31 March 2021.
“The business is in very good shape in every regard,” said Langtree chairman Tim Johnston.
“There won’t be many years as challenging as the last one and huge credit is due to all the team for their planning and hard work. We’ve continued to invest in our strategic partnerships and that will pay dividends in the coming year and beyond.”
Langtree Property Partners, founded in 2015, has more than 3m sq ft of space under ownership or management, 92% of which is occupied, the company said.
During the 12-month period to 31 March 2021, the developer took on the management of a large, multi-let industrial portfolio in the South West, which added more than £100m to the capital value of its managed portfolio.
In addition, the developer increased the value of its residential portfolio by £50m after acquiring a ground lease portfolio covering 85 properties.
Project Violet is due to complete in the new year. Credit: via Merrion Strategy
Langtree Property Partners was founded in 2019 and specialises in public/private sector partnerships.
Its current partnerships include:
- Wire Regeneration – a joint venture with Warrington Council that aims to deliver more than 1,000 homes, a hotel, and a new bus station
- Parkside Regeneration – a joint venture with St Helens Council delivering the redevelopment of Parkside Colliery into a major employment scheme
- Daresbury SIC – a partnership between Science & Technology Facilities Council and Halton Council delivering a 1m sq ft technology park with the aim of creating up to 10,000 jobs.
Langtree holds a 50% stake in each of the above partnerships.
Following government approval of the 1m sq ft first phase of Parkside, Langtree is readying plans for the second phase.
Group chief executive John Downes said that a number of the company’s major projects were moving into either construction or lettings phases, adding that the coming year will be ‘pivotal’ to the firm’s longer-term growth.
At Daresbury, three new buildings totalling 42,000 square feet completed in January, while planning approval for Ultraviolet, a 180,000 sq ft labs and offices complex, was granted last week.
Wire Regeneration’s vision for Warrington could also take a major step forward in the new year. The relocation of the town’s existing bus station will free up a development site Wilderspool Causeway.
Wire Regeneration, a joint venture between Langtree and the council, is leading on the Southern Gateway plans. Credit: via planning documents
“This is significant in that it frees up the largest single site in the Southern Gateway regeneration zone and will allow us to push on with our wider ambitions to transform the area,” Downes said.
Elsewhere in Warrington, design work is underway for the refurbishment of St James Business Centre, while Langtree is close to concluding the financial deal for the construction of Bevan Mews, the Southern Gateway’s first residential project, which will provide 150 new homes when complete.
In January, investor PGIM Real Estate acquired a 25% stake in Langtree.
Johnston hailed the relationship with PGIM, which he says provides the company with the financial bandwidth required to deliver on its diverse growth ambitions.
“Our relationship with PGIM will allow us to combine Langtree’s experience and knowledge of the market with PGIM’s considerable financial strength,” Johnston said.
“The added value they bring will benefit both our existing partnerships’ investments and allow us much more scope to now look to identify new opportunities.”
