Harworth buys two land sites in the Midlands

Property developer and investor Harworth has purchased two strategic land sites in the Midlands to accelerate the expansions of its land bank.

They were bought using part of the £27.1m raised from the company’s equity placing back in March and are projected to deliver returns above Harworth's double-digit target rate of return.

The company has bought a 145-acre site in Coalville, Leicestershire, which neighbours its existing Coalville major development site for £11.8m plus acquisition costs. The site already benefits from planning consent for 914 residential plots and the transaction brings marriage value when combined with Harworth's existing planning consent.

In addition, the group has exercised its option to purchase an 88-acre site at Chatterley Valley, Staffordshire close to the A500, which neighbours its existing 24-acre freehold site for £2.6m plus acquisition costs. The combined 112-acre site benefits from an extant planning consent for 1.2m sq. ft of commercial development, generating marriage value and providing a 10-year development pipeline.

Chief executive Owen Michaelson said: "Growing and expanding our strategic land bank is fundamental to delivering continued value to our shareholders and both purchases provide clear long-term value adding opportunities.

"The outlook in the Midlands market remains healthy, driven by comparatively low prices, a lack of housing land supply and the scarcity of good quality new commercial units."

At 1300 BST, the shares were up 3.8% to 96p.