Income boost as regeneration specialist signs three property deals

Owen Michaelson

Listed property group Harworth has further grown its income portfolio with a trio of deals.

The company, which regenerates land and property for development and investment, has agreed transactions which it says will generate additional net recurring income of £564,000 per year.

These include a 20-year pre-let with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), for a 25,000 sq ft fusion technology research facility, at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham.

This will start on practical completion in September 2020, with the agreed rent in line with existing headline rents for the manufacturing park.

The facility will be used to support the UKAEA’s research and development into the commercialisation of nuclear fusion as a source of sustainable energy. Construction will begin next month.

In a second transaction, Harworth acquired a 65,156 sq ft commercial unit on a 6.9-acre site in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, close to Junction 25 of the M62, for £3.6m.

It has subsequently entered into an Agreement for Lease with Mobus Fabrics for a 10-year term, intended to begin in January 2020.

The third deal has seem Harworth re-let a 134,780 sq ft unit at its Walton Summit Business Park in Preston, Lancashire to H Parkinson Haulage on a three-year lease.

The rent for agreed for this unit reflects a 7.6% uplift on the previous rent paid.

Owen Michaelson, chief executive officer of Harworth Group, said: “Growing the size and quality of our recurring income portfolio remains a strategic priority for the business, acting both as a source of value gain and improving Harworth’s long-term resilience.

“We look forward to taking advantage of further income-producing opportunities over the next few months.”

Ian Ball, chief operating officer of Harworth Group, added: “These three new deals, achieved at or above market rents, demonstrate the strong local occupier relationships of our team.

“They also reflect the maturity of the business in growing its recurring income stream from: the direct development and letting of new commercial space; the effective acquisition and letting of investment assets; and the active asset management of our underlying Business Space portfolio.”

Harworth will be publishing a Year-End Trading Update on Tuesday 21 January 2020.

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