The regeneration game is paying off for Harworth Group
REGENERATION SPECIALIST Harworth Group says it saw strong operational performance in the second half of the year and has made a positive start to the year.
Harworth, which specialises in redeveloping brownfield sites, said it anticipates its financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2016 to be ahead of expectations. Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth, said business in the regions, where it operates, is “good and steady”.
Andrew Kirkman, finance director of Harworth, said: “It was a positive year last year and this year is starting positively as well. Residential and commercial markets remain good for us. People want good property solutions.”
The business is looking at acquiring other sites as it looks to build its strategic land bank.
Mr Michaelson said they were looking at other sites “that fit our core business plan”.
The sites will be in Yorkshire, the North West and the Midlands – regions in which Harworth operates.
Value gains are anticipated to be significantly ahead of expectations and as a result, Net Asset Value (NAV) as at December 31, 2016 is set to be moderately ahead of expectations. Profit from operations is anticipated to be in line with expectations. “We want to grow and we’ve got a good strategy, a good business model, a good market and therefore we can see lots of opportunities,” Mr Kirkman said.
Demand in both the commercial and residential property sectors has not been impacted by the prospect of Britain leaving the EU, Mr Michaelson told The Yorkshire Post.
He said: “When we look at the fundamentals of our business people still need houses, houses are still affordable, mortgages are still available. That is driving fundamental demand in the residential sector, and in the commercial sector there’s this whole structural change in e-retailing, which is driving demand. That demand has not been affected, in either of those sectors, by Brexit.”
Mr Kirkman said it was “harder to say what Brexit might mean” in the longer term. However, the undersupply of housing means there will still be demand, he added.
Chris Spearing, analyst at Canaccord Genuity, said: “We believe the medium-term outlook is positive given the structural undersupply of housing in the UK and the strength of occupational demand for distribution warehouses to support internet sales growth.”