Harworth Gp Regulatory News (HWG)

26 July 2017

Waverley Update

Harworth secures long term leases with advanced manufacturers and makes residential parcel sale to Taylor Wimpey

Harworth Group plc ("Harworth" or the "Company"), the brownfield regeneration and property investment specialist, is pleased to announce that it has signed a conditional 20-year lease with McLaren Automotive Limited ("McLaren") on a new 75,000 ft2 bespoke unit at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (the "AMP"). The unit will be designed and built by Harworth. In a separate transaction, Harworth has also signed a 15-year lease with an unnamed advanced manufacturer for a new 11,044 ft2 unit at the AMP. 

Harworth also announces that it has sold 8.17 acres to Taylor Wimpey to build a further 130 homes on its Waverley development; supporting the Company's strategy of balancing sales with infrastructure funding.

Income Generation

Harworth has signed a conditional twenty-year lease with McLaren on a new 75,000 ft2 bespoke manufacturing unit at the AMP, to be designed and built by Harworth. The new unit is being built on Harworth's next phase of employment land known as "AMPlify @ The AMP", with unit construction due to commence on site in August 2017. McLaren is expected to take occupation of the new unit in summer 2018, following practical completion.

The new purpose-built unit will act as McLaren's new 'Composites Technology Centre', developing and building carbon-fibre tubs around which its vehicles are built. The move to the AMP follows McLaren's announcement in February of this year to create 200 jobs at the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District as part of its research partnership with the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre which is already based at the AMP. Co-location of both entities is essential in utilising new techniques to deliver the very best from McLaren's composite products.

In a separate transaction, Harworth has also signed a 15-year lease with an unnamed advanced manufacturer for a new 11,044 ft2 unit at the AMP. The unit was speculatively constructed and the lease was completed within eight weeks of practical completion.

Capital Growth

Harworth has sold 8.17 acres to Taylor Wimpey, for the construction of a further 130 houses on the Waverley development. This is Taylor Wimpey's third purchase of land at Waverley, following previous land purchases in 2013 and 2015 for a total of 192 plots.

Harworth plans to complete further residential sales at Waverley in the second half of 2017, reflecting the underlying strength of Yorkshire's housing market.

Commenting on these deals, Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"This announcement continues to demonstrate the fundamental strength of our regional residential and commercial markets. We are delighted to welcome McLaren to the AMP and to be able to support them in their ongoing growth. The two announced lease agreements serve as further examples of how we are improving the quality of our income base as we continue to deliver NAV growth across the portfolio. We are maintaining development momentum at the AMP and demand for new units remains high, with the McLaren deal demonstrating how the Harworth offering has evolved to incorporate the design and build of specialist purpose built units on behalf of blue-chip occupiers. 

"The sale of residential plots to Taylor Wimpey marks our ninth sale of engineered housing land on Waverley. This will add to the 650 homes that have already built and occupied on the site since 2012, reflecting good demand for our engineered brownfield land from housebuilders."

-ENDS-

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About Harworth Group

Listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, Harworth Group plc (LSE: HWG) is a leading brownfield regeneration and property investment specialist which owns and manages a portfolio of approximately 22,000 acres of land over 140 sites located throughout the Midlands and North of England. The Company specialises in the regeneration of former coalfield sites and other brownfield land into employment areas, new residential developments and low carbon energy projects.

http://www.harworthgroup.com/

Waverley

Waverley is Yorkshire's largest-ever brownfield redevelopment at 740-acres, with Harworth delivering a new community of 3,890 homes alongside the world-renowned Advanced Manufacturing Park. Over 1m ft2 of employment space and more than 650 homes have already been built and occupied on the site to date.

Advanced Manufacturing Park ("AMP")

The AMP is already home to businesses that provide world-class technology solutions for use in precision industries including aerospace, defence, construction, automotive, sport and others. Occupiers include the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Castings Technology International, Dormer Tools and Sandvik Coromant.

The second phase of "R-evolution" at the AMP involved Harworth speculatively constructing six new units, ranging from 4,966 ft2 to 26,107 ft2, to an institutional specification with advanced manufacturers in mind, given the high levels of demand that exists for such prime space. Completion of the units took place at the end of April 2017. The remaining five units are being actively promoted through joint agents Knight Frank and Gent Visick.