Harworth snaps up South Yorks shed in £44m deal

Harworth has bought a 285,000 sq ft urban logistics estate in Rotherham, South Yorkshire for £43.7m – a 5.4% yield. The grade-A scheme, known as Catalyst, is strategically located next to the group’s flagship industrial development and major UK manufacturing hub, the Advanced Manufacturing Park. Harworth said the acquisition delivered an extension to the AMP, which now benefits from a prominent, extensive frontage on both sides of Sheffield Parkway and provided an opportunity to implement tailored asset management initiatives and deliver additional value across the wider AMP, where it continued to see strong demand from occupiers, and had recently secured rents at more than £10 per sq ft. Comprising five units, Catalyst is 90% let to a diverse range of occupiers, with a WAULT of 6.6 years to break and 10.1 years to expiry. Harworth said it was confident of securing a letting for the final 28,000 sq ft of space at the estate. When fully let, the scheme will generate £2.5m of annualised rent.  Harworth said the deal was in line with its strategy to grow its investment portfolio to £900m by the end of 2029 and transition its core portfolio to 100% grade A by 2027. Following the deal, alongside practical completion of a further 73,000 sq ft of industrial and logistics space at the AMP earlier this month, Harworth’s investment portfolio totals 2.8m sq ft, 45% of which is grade A. Chief executive Lynda Shillaw said: “This acquisition, the largest of an industrial and logistics investment asset in Harworth’s history, aligns with our strategy to grow our high-quality investment portfolio. It also continues our track record of strategic site assembly, providing an opportunity to extend the AMP, further establishing it as one of the leading manufacturing and distribution centres in the region.” She added: “Increased direct development and the retention of grade-A industrial and logistics assets across our major sites, supplemented by select, income-producing acquisitions, is core to our strategy, whilst we will also look to recycle properties where value has been maximised through completed asset management initiatives.”