REG - Watkin Jones plc - Development Partnership for 295 homes in St Helens

Watkin JonesAnnouncement

02/12/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 2759O  Watkin Jones plc  02 December 2024

 2 December 2024

 

 

Watkin Jones plc

('Watkin Jones' or the 'Group')

Development Partnership for 295 homes in St Helens

 

Watkin Jones, the UK's leading developer and manager of residential properties
for rent, is pleased to announce it has agreed to develop and deliver 295 new
homes in a development partnership with Torus, the largest affordable housing
provider in the North West of England, partly funded by Homes England.

 

The scheme is part of the Moss Nook development by Harworth Group, a large
complex former industrial site in St Helens. It will deliver much-needed
affordable tenures and sees the brownfield site regenerated as part of the
wider masterplan, with initial phases already under construction by third
parties.

 

Over the course of the development, the transaction is expected to generate
revenue of approximately £48m for Watkin Jones, is in line with the Group's
stated margin targets, and has the potential to benefit from further value
generated by the scheme in the future. The build programme is anticipated to
take approximately 40 months to complete.

 

Alex Pease, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones, commented:

"Having supported Harworth Group in securing reserved matters planning
permission in April 2024, we are delighted to continue our involvement with
them and to have secured our first development partnership with Torus to
deliver 295 homes, helping to address the growing demand for high-quality
housing in the North West.

 

"By leveraging our leading expertise in the development and construction of
residential real estate, this collaboration highlights our ability to transact
in what continues to be a challenging market environment, whilst implementing
our strategy of diversifying our sources of income.

 

"We look forward to the successful delivery of this project and exploring
future opportunities together."

 

- Ends -

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic
Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR")

 

 

For further information:

 Watkin Jones plc
 Alex Pease, Chief Executive Officer   Tel: +44 (0) 20 3617 4453
 Simon Jones, Chief Financial Officer  www.watkinjonesplc.com
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 Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker)                                                                                                                Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
 Mike Bell / Ed Allsopp                                                                                                                                                    www.peelhunt.com
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Media enquiries:

 MHP Group (Watkin
 Jones)
   Tel: +44 (0) 7770 753544

 Reg Hoare, Rachel Farrington, Charles
 Hirst
 Email: watkinjones@mhpgroup.com (mailto:watkinjones@mhpgroup.com)

Notes to Editors

Watkin Jones is the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for
rent, with a focus on the build to rent, student accommodation and affordable
housing sectors. The Group has strong relationships with institutional
investors, and a reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high-quality
developments. Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered over 49,000 student beds
across 147 schemes, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose-built
student accommodation market, and is increasingly expanding its operations
into the build to rent sector. In addition, Fresh, the Group's specialist
accommodation management business, manages over 16,800 student beds and build
to rent apartments on behalf of its institutional clients. Watkin Jones has
also been responsible for over 50 residential developments, ranging from
starter homes to executive housing and apartments.

 

The Group's competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and
capital-light business model, which enables it to offer an end-to-end solution
for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third
parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.

 

Watkin Jones was admitted to trading on AIM in March 2016 with the ticker
WJG.L.  For additional information please visit www.watkinjonesplc.com
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