Harworth eyes £1bn NDV target

Harworth Group has said it is on track to hit a £1bn net development value milestone by the end of 2027. In a trading update covering the six months to 30 June, the company said NDV was expected to have risen “moderately” over the period from £662.9m at the end of December, reflecting valuation gains in its land and property portfolios. Chief executive Lynda Shillaw said: “Harworth has continued to deliver against its growth strategy to reach £1bn EPRA NDV by the end of 2027 and we recently announced our intention to grow the investment portfolio to £0.9bn by the end of 2029. This growth will largely be driven by our existing industrial and logistics pipeline, which now totals 38.8m sq ft, and will see the delivery of strategically positioned grade-A assets we intend to retain and hold.” The company secured planning permission for 1.8m sq ft and 500 plots during the six months, with up to a further 1.5m sq ft and 150 plots post-period end. Shillaw added: “This has been another strong first half for planning approvals and land sales, the highlight being the exchange of contracts on a £107m serviced land sale to Microsoft at a significant premium to book value, our largest transaction to date.”