Listed property group sells off four sites

Harworth Group, a regenerator of land and property for development and investment, has sold four parcels of primarily restored agricultural land in the North East and Yorkshire.

Through its Natural Resources team and joint retained agents, Savills and Fisher German, the company has sold 265 acres of land in Northumberland and 48 acres of land in West Yorkshire for a total consideration of £0.946m.

It notes that none of these sites had any further development potential for either residential or employment use, so their sale further frees up management time to work on the company’s “key value-adding projects”.

Harworth, which is headquartered in Rotherham, adds that the sales have further supported its strong financial position.

As of 30 September the company had financial headroom of over £63m, providing significant operational flexibility during the pandemic and capacity for selective acquisitions across the North and the Midlands.

 Harworth is also in the process of marketing and disposing of a further 1,000 acres of non-core restored agricultural or vacant land across the North of England and the Midlands during the remainder of 2020.

Joint retained agents Savills and Fisher German continue to act for Harworth, with further sales expected in November and December.

Matthew Smith, senior asset manager at Harworth Group, said: “Demand for our agricultural or vacant land across the UK has held up extremely well throughout 2020 and we are pleased that sales continue to be achieved ahead of book value.

“We have a significant pipeline of further non-core sales which we are confident of completing on during the remainder of the year, which will further bolster the balance sheet as we navigate our way through and out of the pandemic.”

Richard Gadd, associate director at Fisher German LLP, added: “A historically low supply of farmland to the market in 2020, coupled with pent up demand and new entrants seeking more rural investment opportunities has resulted in some exceptional sale results across the UK.

“Amenity and lifestyle buyers have bolstered the market for more geographically remote opportunities, whilst farmers and investors are considering land holdings further afield due to the limited supply.

“We look forward to completing further sales for Harworth Group plc over the coming months.”