Henry Boot Completes Sales of 365 Plots

Boot(Henry) PLC

23 January 2025

 

Henry Boot Completes Sales of 365 Residential Plots to Mulberry Homes & Taylor Wimpey

Henry Boot (or the "group") announces today that Hallam Land (Hallam), the group's land promotion and planning business, has completed the sale of 75 residential plots in Ambrosden, Oxfordshire and a further 290 residential plots in Sittingbourne, Kent to housebuilders Mulberry Homes and Taylor Wimpey, respectively.

The first transaction Hallam has completed is the £6.8 million sale of a freehold site with planning permission for 75 homes in Ambrosden, Oxfordshire, to the housebuilder Mulberry Homes. The sale resulted in an ungeared internal rate of return for Henry Boot of 19% per annum.

Hallam acquired the site in 2014, before promoting the land through the planning process. In December 2023, an outline planning consent was secured for the homes as well as a 12-acre community woodland, local highway improvements and a children's play area.

Hallam retains freehold ownership of an adjacent site totalling 20.6 acres for future promotion through the planning process.

The sale of 290 residential plots has also been completed in Sittingbourne, Kent to national housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, which resulted in an ungeared internal rate of return for Henry Boot of 40% per annum. 

In 2017, Hallam agreed a promotion agreement for the site before submitting an outline application in November 2022. Hallam successfully secured planning consent on an appealed decision in July 2024, following an initial refusal in 2022. The appeal was made on the basis that Swale Borough Council's outdated development plan could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply which in turn was failing to meet the area's housing needs.

In addition to the 290 homes, of which 30% are affordable, the site also includes new landscaping, habitat creation, and publicly accessible green infrastructure, with a 100% Biodiversity Net Gain for surrounding habitats.

Tim Roberts, CEO at Henry Boot, commented: "Our latest residential plot sales to Mulberry Homes & Taylor Wimpey reaffirm the continued success of our land promotion business, benefitting from the government's commitment to planning reform, as well as the ongoing appetite from national and regional housebuilders for well located, permitted land.

The delivery of much needed new homes across these regions, as well as the planning consent gained for significant green infrastructure and spaces, will transform the local area and community."

A trading update for the twelve months ending 31 December 2024 is scheduled for release on Tuesday, 28 January 2025.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Henry Boot is one of the UK's leading land, property development, home building and construction businesses - and we've been transforming land and spaces since 1886. Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1919, we're renowned for quality, expertise, delivery and a partnership approach across the group - which comprises, Hallam Land, HBD, Stonebridge, Henry Boot Construction, Banner Plant and Road Link.

Operating across the UK, and employing over 500 people, we focus on three key markets: urban development, industrial and logistics and residential. Hallam Land has facilitated 52,000 new homes since 1990, managing one of the top five largest land portfolios in the country, with the potential to facilitate over 100,000 homes. HBD manages a development pipeline of £1.3bn, the equivalent of 7m sq ft of developments across our key markets, while maintaining a £113m investment portfolio, of which 73% of the properties have an EPC rating of 'C' or higher. Stonebridge, our jointly owned home building business, manages a land portfolio capable of delivering 1,500 homes, with an ambition to deliver up to 600 new homes a year.

Henry Boot Construction has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, including major projects such as the £200m regeneration of Barnsley town centre, and The Cocoa Works, a £57m residential development in York. For over 65 years, Banner Plant has supplied construction products and services, operating from seven regional depots in the North of England.

We have also developed an ambitious Responsible Business Strategy to help us meet our aim of being Net Zero Carbon by 2030, and to deliver, by 2025, charitable, community and education work valued at £1m.

From land promotion, property development and investment to home building, construction and plant hire, Henry Boot is where great places start.

henryboot.co.uk

Enquiries

FTI Consulting

Richard Sunderland/Giles Barrie

07894 797067 / 07798 926814

[e-mail]

Henry Boot PLC

Tim Roberts, Chief Executive Officer

Darren Littlewood, Chief Financial Officer

Daniel Boot, Senior Corporate Communications Manager

07825 088807

[e-mail]

henryboot.co.uk

Deutsche Numis

Joint Corporate Broker

Ben Stoop

0207 260 1000

Peel Hunt LLP

Joint Corporate Broker

Ed Allsopp / Pete Mackie

0207 418 8900

 

END