Harworth Group plc presented its first-half 2026 results on September 9, 2026, highlighting a strategic shift toward powered land and industrial logistics, with data centre activity central to its pipeline. The company reported EPRA NDV per share of 214.8p at June 30, 2026, down 4.3% from 224.4p at the end of 2025. Total accounting return for the half was -3.7%, while the interim dividend rose 10% to 0.592p per share.
Balance sheet metrics showed net debt rising to £190.0m from £145.9m at December 31, 2025, driven by £25.7m of development spend and acquisitions. The net loan-to-value ratio increased to 20.3%, with the company projecting an improvement to 17.1% by August 31, 2026, against a 25% covenant limit. Cash and debt headroom was £99.5m.
Total portfolio value was broadly stable at £936.6m, compared with £937.2m at year-end 2025, despite £14.9m of net valuation losses. Valuation movements included a £12.7m gain in industrial and logistics major developments, offset by £14.7m losses in industrial and logistics strategic land, a £15.8m decline in residential major developments, and a £4.3m decline in the investment portfolio. Excluding a site undergoing repositioning, the investment portfolio showed a £0.8m gain. Other assets, including natural resources and agricultural land, added £8.4m.
Property sales were £13.2m in the first half, down from £18.9m in the prior-year period. After the period, Harworth completed a non-Grade A asset disposal for £8.1m, a 3% premium to book value. The investment portfolio was valued at £301.4m, with the company targeting a stabilized portfolio value of £500m-£600m. Three post-period Grade A pre-lets were expected to add £3.7m of rental income, secured at a 17% premium to combined estimated rental value.
The industrial and logistics land bank spanned 34.8m sq ft, of which 73% was consented or in the planning system. Substantially construction-ready land was 3.8m sq ft, projected to deliver about £600m of gross development value over the next three to five years. Since 2021, Harworth said it had secured £1.3bn of gross development value through planning approvals and acquired industrial and logistics land with £2.3bn of gross development value. In the first half, 0.3m sq ft of pre-lets were completed or moved to legal stages, while 1.5m sq ft remained in letting and land sale negotiations.
Planning detail showed 8.3m sq ft consented and 12.9m sq ft awaiting determination. Since 2021, the company said it had secured 9.2m sq ft of planning approvals, completed 7.6m sq ft of development and land sales, and serviced or enabled 6.0m sq ft of land.
Data centre activity was a key focus. Harworth has developed sites with strong power connectivity since 2015 and has secured 0.8GW of accepted power offers, making it one of the largest holders of secured powered land in the UK listed real estate sector. A new 0.2GW power offer was accepted at a data centre pipeline site, and the company entered exclusivity in August 2026 on a powered land sale to a leading data centre provider. It identified four further potential hyperscale sites in the near to medium term, with power offers accepted at two and planning applications at three. It cited UK IT power capacity requirements projected to reach 8.1GW by 2030, compared with 2.9GW currently.
The company referenced £46bn of announced investments in UK data centres since 2023 and said the government's AI Growth Zones initiative could unlock £100bn of private investment. JLL estimated £293m of potential future profits from sales of Harworth's existing powered land portfolio, which is not included in EPRA NDV, and £174m of potential value gains for substantially construction-ready and medium-term pipeline assets. Harworth completed a £106.6m powered land sale to Microsoft in June 2024.
Residential metrics showed total plots falling 9% to 28,584 from 31,264, while consented plots declined 35% to 3,065 from 4,568. The company said 47% of the residential pipeline was consented or in the planning system, and 62% was held through capital-light planning promotion agreements, joint ventures or options.
Harworth said its industrial and logistics land and developments delivered an average annual return on capital employed of 24.0% from 2023 to 2025, compared with a 6.1% average annual return for the MSCI UK industrial property index. Residential land and developments recorded a negative 1.0% average annual ROCE over the same period. The company's five-year average total accounting return was 8.1%, against a sector average of 3.1%, placing it in the upper quartile.
The Grade A investment portfolio represented 77% of portfolio value at June 30, 2026, up from 66% a year earlier and from less than 20% in December 2020. Harworth said it is targeting 100% Grade A exposure and plans to reduce total land and development sites from approximately 100 to around 60, positioning itself as a pure-play powered land and industrial logistics specialist.
