AGM Statement

Harworth Group PLC

20 May 2024

 

Harworth Group plc

("Harworth" or "the Group")

AGM Statement

Harworth Group plc, a leading regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment, provides the following update on its operational performance since the start of 2024, in advance of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will take place at 2:30 p.m. today at The Brearley Room, AMP Technology Centre, Advanced Manufacturing Park, Brunel Way, Catcliffe, Rotherham, S60 5WG. The Group will announce the results of its AGM following the conclusion of the meeting.

Highlights

·     Strong momentum into this year, on track to deliver £1bn EPRA NDV¹ by the end of 2027

·     Completed, exchanged or in heads of terms on 75% of budgeted sales for the current financial year

·    Continued to build the scale of the pipeline with 0.5m sq. ft. strategic land acquisitions as part of site assembly, plus several exciting opportunities in execution

·     Allocation received for 3.5m sq. ft. and 600 plots and draft allocation received for 2.3m sq. ft. and 2,275 plots

·     Planning applications for 10.1m sq. ft. of industrial & logistics space and 2,274 housing plots progressing through the planning system

·     0.4m sq. ft. of industrial & logistics development underway or ready to start later in 2024, of which 52% is pre-let or being constructed for the owner-occupier: once balance is fully let it is expected to contribute £2.9m of annualised rental income in total

·     Enabling works underway for 2.1m sq. ft. of further development on commercial sites

·    Conservative balance sheet with significant available liquidity of £171.1m and pro-forma LTV as at 30 April 2024 of 8.4%, based on December 2023 valuations

Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive of Harworth, commented: "Harworth has delivered strong strategic and operational momentum to date in 2024 despite a still somewhat uncertain economic backdrop as we continue towards our growth ambition of £1bn EPRA NDV by the end of 2027. Strong demand remains for our serviced residential products which provide us with regular funding as we make excellent progress on our industrial & logistics pipeline in the remaining years of our current strategic planning period: this enables the delivery of over 3.3m sq. ft. and c.£430m Gross Development Value (GDV) across our industrial & logistics sites by the end of 2027.

"We now have 23.6m sq. ft. and 12,290 residential plots that have planning consent, are in the planning system or have either allocation or draft allocation providing de-risked visibility on future projects. With our continued focus on acquisitions, planning and development across our land bank, and our strong financial position, we are well-positioned to continue driving growth and value for our stakeholders."

Strategic progress against four key growth pillars

Harworth is on track to deliver against its strategy to achieve £1bn EPRA NDV by the end of 2027, while maintaining a positive, lasting impact on the planet and the communities in which it operates. Strong progress has been made to date in 2024 against its four growth pillars.

Increasing direct development of industrial & logistics space:

·      0.4m sq. ft. underway or expected to start later in 2024, including 187,000 sq. ft. at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), Rotherham, comprising two pre-let units and one occupier-owned build-to-suit unit with practical completion expected over H2 2024 and H1 2025

·  Development underway on 21,000 sq. ft. of amenities at Olive Lane, a new mixed-use heart of the community at Waverley which includes a medical centre, pharmacy, convenience retail and leisure, of which 80% is pre-let, subject to legal documentation or in heads of terms

·     Enabling works also underway on major development sites expected to deliver up to 2.1m sq. ft. of future direct development

·    Occupier interest remains strong across all direct development sites, with proposed rents in-line with or ahead of December 2023 ERVs

Accelerating sales and broadening the range of residential products:

·    Completed, exchanged or in heads of terms on 75% of budgeted sales for the year across industrial & logistics and residential land portfolios broadly at prices in-line with, or at a premium to, book value before transaction costs demonstrating continued demand for serviced and de-risked residential land

·    Following the first two Affordable Housing forward fund agreements with Great Places, development is progressing and the homes are being built by third party contractors while Harworth provides a development management service

·    Infrastructure works have started on the first pilot scheme for net zero carbon homes at the Prince of Wales development, with building expected to start later this year

Scaling up land acquisitions and promotion:

·      Strategic land acquisitions as part of land assembly with the ability to deliver up to 0.5m sq. ft. completed plus several exciting opportunities in execution

·    Good progress being made unlocking Harworth's current industrial & logistics pipeline equating to a potential portfolio of £5.0bn GDV

·     Planning progress continues with 3.5m sq. ft. and 600 plots receiving allocation and a further 2.3m sq. ft. and 2,275 plots receiving draft allocation

·    Planning approvals received for 57% of the build-to-rent (BtR) sites in the portfolio and progress made towards exchange of contracts with selected partners

·    Planning applications representing 10.1m sq. ft. of space and 2,274 housing plots currently progressing through the planning system and awaiting determination

Repositioning Investment Portfolio to modern Grade A:

·     On target to transition the core portfolio to 100% Grade A by the end of 2027: currently the portfolio is 37% Grade A, with 75% rated EPC A-C

·      Commenced the transition of the site at Berry Hill Industrial Estate, Droitwich to Grade A, with remediation expected to complete in Q3 2024 and direct development of a 170,000 sq. ft. unit expected to commence during the second half of the year

·   Strong progress made on letting the recently completed R-evolution 4 development at the AMP, Rotherham, with 61% of the space now let or in heads of terms and a further 6% under offer, in-line with or ahead of December 2023 ERVs

·     Further progress letting vacant space reducing EPRA vacancy to 6.6% based on December 2023 ERVs (31 December 2023: 9.9%), contributing towards increasing annualised rental income to £14.6m (31 December 2023: £14.1m)

Strong financial position

The Group remains well capitalised with a conservative balance sheet and strong financial position. As at 30 April 2024 net debt was £63.1m (31 December 2023: £36.4m), increasing in line with seasonal site works and resulting in a pro-forma LTV of 8.4% (31 December 2023: 4.7%), based on 31 December 2023 valuations and adjusting for subsequent completed sales.

As at 30 April 2024, the Group has significant available liquidity of £171.1m (31 December 2023: £192.2m) and no refinancing requirements under core facilities until 2027. This provides Harworth with a high degree of financial flexibility and resilience to deliver growth and achieve its target of £1bn EPRA NDV by the end of 2027.

Sustainability

In April 2024, Harworth published two sustainability documents: its NZC Pathway Progress Report for 2023 and its Community Framework. The NZC Pathway Progress Report highlights the actions taken to date that enable the Group to achieve its ambition of being operationally NZC by 2030 and NZC for all emissions by 2040, and measures progress against the relevant framework. Both reports can be accessed at www.harworthgroup.com/sustainability.

(1) European Public Real Estate Association Net Disposal Value, an adjusted Net Asset Value metric which is one of Harworth's key Alternative Performance Measures.

For further information

Harworth Group plc
Lynda Shillaw (Chief Executive) Kitty Patmore (Chief Financial Officer) Luke Passby (Head of Investor Relations & Communications)	T: [phone] E: [e-mail]
FTI Consulting
Dido Laurimore Richard Gotla Eve Kirmatzis	T: [phone] E: [e-mail]

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 14,000 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 industrial & logistics and residential developments to create sustainable places where people want to live and work, supporting new homes, jobs and communities across the regions and delivering long-term value for all stakeholders. Visit www.harworthgroup.com for further information. LEI: 213800R8JSSGK2KPFG21.

 

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