Henry Boot upbeat after tough 2019

The London-listed form said overall group performance for the year ended 31 December was “marginally lower” than the board's original expectations, driven by the disposal of the majority of its retail investments during the second half, which reduced rental income.

However, those sales, together with other activities, meant the group ended 2019 in a “strategically strong” position, with higher-than-expected net cash of around £30m, swinging from net debt of £18m in 2018, and with several opportunities identified to re-invest in during 2020.

It said its Hallam Land Management business performed “exceptionally well”, especially given that a large scheme which had been forecast to complete in 2019 did not reach a conclusion.

The board said that, as was typical of such large schemes, there was no certainty that it would conclude in the year ahead, although it had now been moved into its forecasts for 2020.

Its Henry Boot Developments (HBD) division successfully completed The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA) - a £333m scheme for Aberdeen Council - which was delivered on time and on budget.

During the year, delivery of several strategic employment sites commenced, including Butterfields Business Park in Luton, Airport Business Park Southend and the International Advanced Manufacturing Park in Sunderland.

The company said the year-on-year property valuation for the rest of the portfolio was “slightly up” on 2018, with the group benefitting from valuation uplifts relating to investment property under construction completed in the year.

Trading at Henry Boot Construction held up well, the directors claimed, especially given the “much-publicised challenges” facing the construction market.

The group was entering 2020 with a strong committed order book, it claimed, with the added opportunity to capitalise on the small foothold it had established in the partnership homes market through the acquisition of Starfish Commercial.

“We had a good year making strategic progress through investing in both our people and our future pipeline, whilst growing net asset value,” said chief executive officer Tim Roberts.

“Looking forward, we have made a good start to the year with a strong balance sheet and further opportunities to add to our property development pipeline and strategic land bank, plus a healthy construction order book.”

Henry Boot said it would issue its preliminary results statement on 31 March.

At 0815 GMT, shares in Henry Boot were down 5.95% at 321.65p.