Regeneration and land business Harworth Group saw operating profit jump to £121m last year, from £27.8m the year before.
Announcing its full year results to investors, the Rotherham-based group said revenue had grown from £70m to £109m during the period. A significant proportion of its operating profit came a revaluation of property.
Long term undersupply of industrial and logistics properties continued to drive demand from occupiers and investors, and chief executive Lynda Shillaw noted there was increasing demand for strategic land for industrial and residential development.
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And during the year the group completed £14.3m of site acquisitions, including the freehold of two strategic land sites in Rothwell and Northamptonshire capable of delivering 1.5millon sq. ft. of industrial space, along with Staveley in Derbyshire with room for 600 homes.
Harworth reports on European Public Real Estate Association net disposal value (EPRA NDV) - a key performance measure in real estate - which increased by 23.6% during the year to £637.5m, up from £515.9m.
The group pointed to its pipeline of 28.2million sq. ft. of industrial and logistics space which includes 332,000 sq. ft. of Grade A space Bardon Hill, planning secured for 1.1million sq. ft. of space at Wingates in Bolton and a further 2.8million sq. ft. of plans submitted across its Skelton Grange, Leeds and Gascoigne Wood, North Yorkshire sites.
In its residential business, Harworth reported increased total plot sales of 1,411 to nine different housebuilders, up from 873 in 2020 and also reported planning secured for 1,000 homes at its Ironbridge, Shropshire regeneration site.
Ms Shillaw said: "Harworth maintained its strong momentum throughout 2021, as we stepped into our ambitious strategy to reach £1bn of EPRA NDV over five to seven years. Our performance, combined with tailwinds in our end markets, has translated into a significant increase in EPRA NDV and our highest annual total return to date.
"In addition to the significant progress made in planning, direct development, lettings and land sales across our portfolio during the year, we agreed terms for the sales of our Ansty strategic land site and Kellingley development site, conditional on planning consent, at significant premiums to book value. The proceeds from these sales once completed, alongside the larger senior debt facility we have secured, will provide us with additional firepower to deploy across our development sites and acquisition pipeline.
"Our core sectors continue to perform well, but are not immune to wider macroeconomic pressures. Our focus now is on the execution of the strategy, ensuring that, as we work through our plans, the team has the skills and resources to deliver consistently and successfully, sustainably growing the business and delivering returns through the cycle. This will ensure that we continue to deliver places where people want to live and work."
