Regeneration company increases funding line to £75m to support growth plans

REGENERATION company Harworth Group has secured funding facilities which now total £75m to support its growth ambitions through the development of its land and property portfolio.

The Yorkshire-based business is a mixed-use regeneration company with a range of property interests located throughout the UK, predominantly across the North of England and the Midlands.

Harworth’s land portfolio includes the ownership and management of over 23,000 acres across 150 sites and it specialises in the regeneration of former coalfield and other brownfield land into employment areas, new residential development and low-carbon energy projects.  

Harworth’s H1 results, published earlier this week, showed that the company had gross assets of £363.9m, with a portfolio that includes land for 10,029 consented residential plots and over 10m sq ft of commercial space, in addition to an income portfolio that includes seven business parks and a range of low-carbon energy developments.

It says the funding, facilitated by The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Real Estate Finance team in Leeds, provides “more appropriate” commercial terms to the business, allowing the company to accelerate the delivery of its key strategic sites across the North of England and the Midlands to support the UK’s future economic growth.

Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth Group, said: “The increased facility with The Royal Bank of Scotland creates a senior financing platform to enable Harworth to drive further shareholder value from both its existing real estate portfolio and the wider real estate markets. The team at The Royal Bank of Scotland are extremely knowledgeable about the sector and have provided a funding solution that serves the needs of our business in the best possible way.”

Jonathan Ellis, director, real estate finance at The Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “Harworth Group continues to deliver innovative regeneration projects across the UK as one of the leaders in its field. The increase in financing facilities will allow for Harworth to move forward on a range of projects and we wish the business every success for the future.”