Harworth makes £8.5m land sale to Taylor Wimpey

Harworth Group announced the completion of an £8.5m sale on Friday, of 15.6 acres of serviced residential land at its Stopes Road development near Little Lever in Bolton, to Taylor Wimpey UK.

The London-listed company said the site, located less than a kilometre from the Little Lever town centre and adjacent to a large residential area, was previously occupied by Tarmac for concrete block manufacturing and storage.

Harworth acquired the site in 2020, and subsequently removed the industrial infrastructure and remediated the land.

Outline planning permission for up to 132 new homes was secured in 2021.

The masterplan for the site included a variety of housing types to cater to local community needs and improvements to road infrastructure and access.

Harworth said the sale came after a competitive process involving local and regional housebuilders.

It aligned with Harworth's strategy to reinvest proceeds from residential land sales into its industrial and logistics development programme, which aimed to enhance the delivery of grade-A investment properties within its investment portfolio.

Harworth said it remained on track with its 2024 sales target, and would continue to acquire strategic land for future regeneration and development.

“This sale is the second that we have completed with Taylor Wimpey across our major residential developments in the space of just a few weeks, and highlights the continued demand from national house builders for Harworth's serviced land,” said chief executive officer Lynda Shillaw.

“Our Stopes Road development is another great example of how Harworth utilises its specialist skillset to unlock value from complex land and highlights the intrinsic value in our pipeline.

“The regeneration of this scheme will deliver a thriving new community, bringing additional housing, jobs and investment to the local area whilst also providing residents with extensive green space and landscaping to enhance biodiversity, alongside improvements to road and footpath access.”

At 1201 BST, shares in Harworth Group were down 0.17% at 172.71p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.