Hargreaves Services completes Unity land sale early

Industrial and property sector service provider Hargreaves Services announced the early completion of the sale of a 79 acre plot to a national retailer by its Unity joint venture on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said the sale was the first significant transaction on the Unity mixed-use development scheme, which was held in a 50-50 joint venture with regional developer Waystone Developments.

It said the site was for the development of an 800,000 square foot distribution and training centre.

Revenue of about £25m from the sale had been received by the joint venture in full, and was being retained within that entity while the Unity board reviewed the project's future funding requirements.

Unity, located immediately east of Doncaster, was described by Hargreaves as “one of the largest” regeneration schemes within Yorkshire, with planning permission for two million square feet of commercial space and 3,100 homes across 650 acres.

The project reached a major milestone in December, with the completion and opening of the new link road, providing the entire development with direct access to junction 5 of the M18 motorway.

Hargreaves said the sale was originally expected to complete in the second half of the year ending 31 May 2022, following completion of the site access road and plot servicing.

That work, which started at the beginning of 2021 and was set to complete at the end of the year, was funded independently of Hargreaves.

The sale had been brought forward at the request of the purchaser.

“The Unity scheme is one of the most exciting developments in Hargreaves Land's portfolio and it is encouraging that our purchaser has perceived the benefit of early completion to accelerate their project delivery,” said chairman Roger McDowell.

“This will undoubtedly further enhance the attractiveness of the Unity development to other commercial users.”

At 1235 BST, shares in Hargreaves Services were flat at 345p.