UK listed brownfield regeneration and property investment specialist Harworth Group has executed £45 mln (€51 mln) of land acquisitions in the UK Midlands and North, and increased its existing loan facilities to £100 mln.
'These acquisitions and the increase in our financing facilities demonstrate the continued implementation of our strategic priorities,' commented Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth.
The four acquisitions comprise a mix of brownfield and greenfield sites across 299 acres, the largest of which was acquired for £32.45 mln.
The acquisitions have been funded through the company’s existing revolving credit facility (RCF) which has been extended from £75 mln to £100 mln, with Santander UK providing an additional £25 mln commitment to sit alongside the existing £75 mln commitment from The Royal Bank of Scotland.
According to Haworth, the terms and covenants of the RCF remain unchanged with a margin of LIBOR plus 210bps and expiry in February 2023. Following these acquisitions, over £20 mln of the RCF remains undrawn and the company expects its year-end loan-to-value to remain in the range of 10% to 15%.
The sites, in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, are within the group’s core markets of the North of England and the Midlands. Two of the sites generate existing income of £3.1 mln per annum from two commercial tenants. In total, the acquisitions provide the potential for the development of up to 3,000 homes and over 1 million ft2 of commercial space, Haworth said.
'Our confidence in the strength of, and the outlook for, our principal markets in the North of England and Midlands is underpinned by the continued undersupply of new homes and commercial space in the face of high levels of demand from housebuilders and commercial occupiers alike,' added Michaelson. 'Harworth continues to make a significant contribution to the ongoing economic growth of the regions as one of the UK’s leading regeneration companies.'
