Harworth Group has made operating profits of £100m after six months of record development as it edges closer to its £1bn target.
Chief executive Lynda Shillaw said the results were proof of the robustness of her strategy to turn the regeneration specialist into a £1bn company.
Harworth lifted its net asset value to £655m during the first half of the year, up from £578m at the end of 2021. EPRA NDV increased by 13.7% to £724.8m.
Shillaw said: “It is our management actions that have materially contributed to the growth in EPRA NDV, supported by the strong market during the period for our residential and industrial and logistics products, demonstrating that we are continuing to deliver successfully against our growth strategy outlined a year ago.”
In part that has been achieved by leaning heavily on one of Shillaw’s “four levers” – direct development of industrial and logistics property. These include schemes such as Bardon Hill in Leicestershire, 332,000 sq ft of grade-A space which is 92% let and has embedded net zero carbon principles in its design.
“We undertook a record level of direct development in our industrial and logistics portfolio,” Shillaw noted, adding that Harworth had also “continued to accelerate our residential sales, and made several acquisitions to grow our development pipeline”.
Total returns were down slightly at 14.1%, against the 15.4% reached during the same period of 2021.
But despite the good news, Shillaw said she was aware that macro-economic forces would result in headwinds. “It is our expectation that as a result of this market backdrop, valuation gains during 2022 are likely to be first half-weighted,” she said.
But the ambition to turn Harworth into a £1bn concern remained within reach, she insisted. “Our proven successful track record as a developer of large complex sites to create high-quality sustainable places provides a solid platform for growth as we continue to deliver on our strategic plan to reach £1bn of EPRA NDV.”
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