Harworth Group plc

("Harworth" or "the Group")

Harworth completes 964 residential plot sales in December 2023

Harworth Group plc, a leading regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment, announces that in December 2023 it completed 964 residential plot sales, to bring its total for the year to 1,170. A number of further land parcel sales are expected to complete in the coming months, reflecting continued housebuilder appetite for Harworth's de-risked serviced residential land product.

The December transactions comprised six land parcel sales in Yorkshire and the Midlands to four housebuilders, and the Group's first forward funding agreement with a registered provider as part of Harworth's affordable housing portfolio. The total headline sales price for these transactions was £41.2 million and all were completed at prices in line with, or ahead of, book values. More detail on these transactions is provided below. 

·      The largest of the disposals was the whole of a site in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, which has been sold jointly to both Harron Homes and Homes by Honey. In the first half of 2023, an outline planning consent was secured to develop up to 397 family homes at the site.

·      At its South East Coalville development in Leicestershire, Harworth has sold a land parcel to Strata for the construction of up to 184 homes. The wider development occupies a 250-acre site and has outline planning consent for more than 2,000 homes, with land now sold for over half of these, together with a new supermarket. A new 21-acre park was opened at the site in late 2023 and construction has begun on a new two-form entry primary school.

·      At its Prince of Wales development in Pontefract, Harworth has sold a land parcel to Harron Homes for the development of 141 new homes. The regeneration of the former Prince of Wales colliery, which will see the creation of a new community of over 900 homes, began in 2013 and is now nearing completion. To date, over 400 homes have been built and occupied at the site, with almost half of these being delivered by Harron Homes, following its first land acquisition there in 2016.

·      At Thoresby Vale in Nottinghamshire, a land parcel has been sold to Homes by Honey to deliver 114 family homes. The development lies on the site of the former Thoresby Colliery, which Harworth is transforming into a new community of around 800 homes, including a new primary school, retail and leisure facilities and a 350-acre country park. Land at the site has already been sold to two housebuilders - one parcel to Harron Homes, and three parcels to Barratt and David Wilson Homes - for the delivery of over 530 houses in total. The primary school received planning approval in 2023 and construction is expected to commence later this year.

·      At Waverley in Rotherham, where Harworth is regenerating the former Orgreave Colliery & Coking Works into over 3,000 homes alongside the nationally-significant Advanced Manufacturing Park, extensive green space and amenities, land was sold to Homes by Honey to develop 54 family homes.

·      At its Gedling site in Nottinghamshire, Harworth sold a remaining small land parcel to Keepmoat Homes, which has an outline planning consent to develop 24 houses. The land parcel is adjacent to a separate development being delivered by Keepmoat Homes and Homes England on the site of the former Gedling Colliery.

·      Finally, 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 new affordable housing properties 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.

Harworth will provide a Trading Update in respect of the year ended 31 December 2023 later this month.  

Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive of Harworth, commented: "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."

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About Harworth

Listed on the Premium Segment of the Main Market, Harworth Group plc (LSE: HWG) is a leading sustainable regenerator of land and property for development and investment which owns, develops and manages a portfolio of over 13,000 acres of land on around 100 sites located throughout the North of England and Midlands. The Group specialises in the regeneration of large, complex sites, in particular former industrial sites, into new residential and industrial & logistics developments. Visit www.harworthgroup.com for further information. LEI: 213800R8JSSGK2KPFG21