Hargreaves Services plc

("Hargreaves" or the "Group")

Conditional contracts exchanged at Unity Joint Venture and Blindwells

Hargreaves Services plc (AIM: HSP), a diversified group delivering services to the industrial and property sectors, announces that Waystone Hargreaves Land LLP, the 50:50 joint venture company developing the 650 acre (263 ha) mixed use Unity¹ project, has exchanged conditional contracts with Aver Property Limited Partnership for the development and sale of two large distribution units on plots of 19 acres (8 ha) and 10 acres (4 ha). On legal completion, the two contracts will generate combined revenue in excess of £50m for the joint venture. Net cash proceeds from the contract after allowing for the costs of the development will be distributed following project completion subject to the funding requirements of the joint venture at the time.

The two distribution/industrial units comprise 191,000 sq ft and 375,000 sq ft respectively. They will both be located on Unity Connect, the dedicated employment area of Unity located immediately adjacent to junction 5 of the M18 motorway. This area already has outline planning permission for industrial and logistics space and forms part of a wider planning permission for 2 million sq ft of commercial space and 3,100 homes across the Unity development site.

Both transactions are conditional upon the grant of detailed planning permission and are expected to become unconditional before the end of 2022 and be completed within 12 months of commencement of construction.

This large industrial and distribution scheme follows on from the April 2021 completion of the sale of a 79 acre (32 ha) development site for a regional logistics hub to a national retailer and represents a further acceleration of the Unity project.

The Group is also announcing the exchange of another conditional contract at Blindwells. This is for the sale of 4.6 acres to regional housebuilder, Ogilvie Homes. This latest exchange follows the recently completed sale to Persimmon and will deliver 77 homes, including 23 affordable and will generate a minimum revenue of £3.5m.

Roger McDowell, Non-Executive Chairman of Hargreaves, said: "The Board is delighted to see further progress being made at Unity by the Hargreaves Land team and our Waystone partners. This is another positive step towards realising the inherent value of the Group's substantial land portfolio."

¹ - Unity, located immediately to the east of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, is one of the largest regeneration schemes within the Yorkshire region

For further details: 

About Hargreaves Services plc (www.hsgplc.co.uk)

Hargreaves Services plc is a diversified group delivering services to the industrial and property sectors, supporting key industries within the UK and South East Asia. The Company's three business segments are Services, Hargreaves Land and an investment in a German joint venture, Hargreaves Raw Materials Services GmbH ("HRMS"). Services provides critical support to many core industries including Energy, Environmental, UK Infrastructure and certain manufacturing industries through the provision of materials handling, mechanical and electrical contracting services, logistics and major earthworks. Hargreaves Land is focused on the sustainable development of brownfield sites for both residential and commercial purposes. HRMS trades in specialist commodity markets and owns DK Recycling, a specialist recycler of steel waste material. Hargreaves is headquartered in County Durham and has operational centres across the UK, as well as in Hong Kong and a joint venture in Duisburg, Germany.