Yorkshire firm in business park deal
Group buys ex-Golden Wonder factory
BUSINESS: Harworth Group has confirmed the acquisition of the Towngate Business Park for £12.7m.
The Rotherham-based land regenerator has purchased the multi-let industrial estate in Widnes, Cheshire, from Towngate. Towngate Business Park, a former Golden Wonder food factory, comprises a total of 262,000 sq ft of space.
HARWORTH GROUP has confirmed the acquisition of the Towngate Business Park for £12.7m.
The Rotherham-based land regenerator has purchased the multi-let industrial estate in Widnes, Cheshire, from Towngate.
Towngate Business Park, a former Golden Wonder food factory, comprises a total of 262,000 sq ft of industrial space, which has been divided into nine warehouse units, ranging in size from 4,000 sq ft to 77,000 sq ft, and 3.8 acres of open storage.
It is located on Everite Road, Widnes. Towngate Business Park provides easy access to the M62 via the M57 and south to the M56, leading to the M6.
The asset is fully let and generates rental income of £958,000 per annum.
Harworth said the transaction was in line with its growth strategy and added it intends to invest in the estate, leveraging its asset management expertise to capture rental reversion and explore infill development opportunities over the medium term.
The acquisition has been funded by proceeds from the company’s active churn strategy in its income portfolio, recycling capital through the disposal of non-core assets or those where the group has completed its asset management business plans.
Most recently, this manifested in the £3.35m sale of Lynfield Park, the former Alcan Rio Tinto smelter in Northumberland, in February 2021, ahead of book value.
At December 2020, Harworth’s Business Space portfolio of predominantly industrial and logistics properties, generated £15.7m of annual rental income with a Weighted Average Unexpired Lease Term (WAULT) of 12.5 years.
Richard Bousfield, head of income at Harworth Group, said:
“Towngate Business Park is a fantastic addition to our income portfolio, adding recurring income whilst also presenting asset management opportunities to generate future value.
“The acquisition builds on our ambition to grow our exposure in the North West, where the industrial market continues to see very high levels of occupier demand and extremely limited supply which is resulting in positive rental growth forecasts.”
Harworth was advised by Metis Real Estate Advisors and Freeths, while Towngate was represented by B8 Real Estate and Littler Associates.
At its most recent set of results last month, Harworth said operating profit rose 14 per cent to £28m in the year to December 31.
The firm recommended a final dividend per share of 1.466p, reflecting its underlying growth of 10 per cent.
It was supplemented to reflect the cancellation of the 2019 final dividend at the start of the pandemic.
Harworth’s chief executive Lynda Shillaw said at the time that she felt the business was well positioned to play a key role supporting the Government agenda on housing, levelling up and the green economy.
She said a strategic focus on the ‘beds and sheds’ sectors in the North and the Midlands was “already delivering for the regions and the regional economy”.
Prior to the Towngate deal, Harworth said it had a strong development pipeline after it secured planning consents for a further 1.1m sq ft of industrial space and 300 residential plots.