REG - Harworth Group PLC - Trading Update FY-2025

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RNS Number : 8418P  Harworth Group PLC  22 January 2026

 

HARWORTH GROUP PLC

('Harworth' or the 'Group' or the 'Company')

 

Trading Update FY-2025(1)

Sustained Industrial & Logistics momentum

 

Harworth Group plc, a leading regeneration, strategic land and development
business, today announces a trading update for FY-2025 and outlook, ahead of
the Full Year results scheduled for Tuesday 17 March 2026. See page 2* for
abbreviations.

 

2025 Key Highlights:

·      I&L continues to outperform - attractive total property
returns across land and property portfolio - positive value uplifts, on land
with enabling works now complete or significantly progressed, underpin the
next generation of Harworth sites. Land with a capacity to deliver 3.7m sq ft,
at sites such as Wingates, the Advanced Manufacturing Park and Droitwich,
alongside the acquisition of JV partner's stake at Gateway 45, adjacent to our
Skelton Grange site, the location for Microsoft's proposed hyperscale data
centre. Our pipeline of potential deals includes 1.2m sq ft of strong interest
across a broad range of transactions. Our consented pipeline of 8.5m sq ft is
well positioned to deliver Grade A product to the market and our Investment
Portfolio.

·      Strong performance across I&L property portfolio - new
lettings secured across 267,000 sq ft, headline rents grew by £2.5m, headline
sales of £58.2m(2) crystallised, the quality of the Investment Portfolio
improved to 75% Grade A(3), by value, with vacancy improved to just 1%.

·      Residential land performance reflects market conditions - 1,837
total plot sales completed(4), with an additional 155 plots due to complete
imminently, in-line with the average of the last four years and business plan
expectations, following on from record 2024 sales volumes. A further 591 plots
have conditionally exchanged.  Headline sales of £52.0m across 1,112
freehold plots at an overall discount to June book values, reflecting
prevailing market pressures.

 

Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive of Harworth, commented: "The business delivered
sustained operational progress in 2025. Our management actions have culminated
in attractive levels of total property return across our I&L land
portfolio, reinforcing our strategy to pivot the I&L portfolio weighting
to 85%. We have crystallised £343m of capital since the end of 2020 from
Residential land sales and reduced the volume of consented Residential plots
by 67% over the same time to improve capital efficiency. The acceleration of
plot sales, from a base of 873 at the end of 2020, underpins our future
cashflows to reinvest into primarily higher-returning I&L opportunities,
to drive our future growth and long-term returns.

 

"The well-reported challenges across the residential market persist, with a
lack of demand side stimulus and ongoing cost and regulatory pressures.
Despite this, we delivered sales volumes in-line with target levels, albeit
transactions completed on terms reflecting these market headwinds. As a
result, and notwithstanding the robust I&L portfolio performance, Group
level value gains will be tempered by residential market weakness, resulting
in FY-2025 EPRA NDV expected to be flat to marginally up versus the
half-year."

 

Outlook

Harworth's attractive land bank and development pipeline provide multiple
strategic levers and meaningful optionality around the timings of sales and
development activity. Driving portfolio performance and total accounting
returns (TAR) remain our priority, supported by active capital recycling and a
well- managed balance sheet. Year-end loan-to-value remains within our
self-imposed target of less than 20%.

 

The work undertaken in 2025 places the portfolio at a pivotal point in
realising future upside potential. Our I&L land pipeline now comprises our
largest ever volume of development-ready land, strategically positioned to
meet the growing demand being generated from the industrial, advanced
manufacturing, defence, energy, and data centre sectors. Key sites such as
Northern Gateway, Wingates and Gateway 45 have local strategic support and are
ideally positioned along major manufacturing and logistics corridors. As we
complete enabling works, our I&L land and property portfolio is well
placed to capitalise on improving fundamentals in the industrial market.

 

Despite three challenging years, we have made good progress, having delivered
a cumulative TAR of 43.7% to H1-2025, materially outperforming much of the
sector, a real testament to the skills and expertise of our teams. We remain
confident in achieving £1bn of EPRA NDV, albeit ongoing macroeconomic
weakness and investor uncertainty mean that it is increasingly challenging to
deliver against the roadmap set back in 2021. Against this backdrop, the
timeline for achieving our milestone extends beyond December 2027, with a
range between the end of 2028 and end of 2029. Looking ahead operationally,
momentum strengthened post the UK Budget, with deal volumes starting to pick
up. The depth of existing interest in our sites, including the potential for
high value transactions, gives the Board confidence in Harworth's potential to
deliver attractive shareholder returns.

 

*We aim to create long-term, through-the-cycle value by focusing on:

 Two structurally undersupplied sectors:                              Two core products:

 1. Industrial & Logistics ('I&L') growing to 85% weighting           1. Serviced remediated land for sale

2. Residential ('R')
2. Development to hold and for sale
 Three portfolios:                                                    Three regions:
 1. I&L Investment Portfolio ('IP'),                                  1. Yorkshire & Central ('YAC'),

2. Strategic Land ('SL')
2. Midlands ('MID')

3. Major Developments ('MD')
3. North West ('NOW')

 

Our land bank stands at 35.0m sq ft of I&L of which 75% is consented or in
the planning system(5) (Dec 2024: 33.6m sq ft; 63%) and 29,386 Residential
plots of which 46% are consented or in the planning system(5) (Dec 2024:
31,264; 46%).

 

Since 2021, we have received planning on 9.1m sq ft of I&L space with an
estimated Gross Development Value (GDV) of £1.3bn, we have concluded on
cumulative sales of c. £700m, including. 9,000 Residential plots and we have
bought or optioned I&L land totalling 14.3m sq ft, with an estimated GDV
of £2.1bn.

 

Notes:

1. All values are Harworth's share, unless noted otherwise

2. £47.7m of I&L IP sales and £10.5m of Natural Resources and other
I&L

3. Prior to 31 December 2025 valuations

4. 725 of Planning Promotion Agreement (PPA) plot sales and 1,112 freehold
Residential plots generating £52.0m of headline sales

5. In the planning system includes draft allocations, allocations and awaiting
determination

 

For further information

 

 Harworth Group plc
 Lynda Shillaw (Chief Executive)             T: +44 (0)114 349 3131

 Kitty Patmore (Chief Financial Officer)     E: investors@harworthgroup.com (mailto:investors@harworthgroup.com)

Juliana Weiss Dalton (Investor Relations)

 FTI Consulting
 Dido Laurimore                              T: +44 (0)20 3727 1000

 Richard Gotla                               E: Harworth@fticonsulting.com (mailto:Harworth@fticonsulting.com)

 Eve Kirmatzis

 

About Harworth

Harworth Group plc (LSE: HWG), is a leading regeneration, strategic land and
development business focused on the Industrial & Logistics (I&L) and
Residential sectors. We own, develop, and manage a portfolio of over 15,000
acres of Strategic Land over 100 sites located throughout the North of England
and Midlands. We specialise in delivering long-term value for all stakeholders
by regenerating large, complex sites, into new I&L developments and
serviced remediated land for sale into the I&L and Residential land
markets. Our long-term through-the-cycle business model is to create
sustainable places, support new homes, jobs and communities where people want
to live and work. Visit www.harworthgroup.com for further information. LEI:
213800R8JSSGK2KPFG21

 

 

 

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