Directors at Yorkshire land and property specialist Henry Boot have hailed a “resilient” performance after seeing revenues and profits fall in challenging conditions.
The listed Sheffield land promotion, property investment, development and construction group posted results for 2024 showing revenues fell 9% to £328.4m, triggered by reduced turnover in its construction division. It said the fall was offset by higher sales from Hallam Land, which accrued land and property sales of £224m, which it said highlighted “continued demand for our high quality land, prime property development and premium homes”.
Operating profit fell 5% to £34.2m and pre-tax profit fell 7% to £30.7m, and its proposed final dividend has increased by 5% to 4.62p, bringing the total dividend for the year to 7.70p, up from 7.33p. The company said the results were as expected, and reflect soft market conditions and a subdued economic environment, with its performance buoyed by a stronger second half performance as a result of timings of key transactions.
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In a “mixed year” for the residential market, the group said it is continuing to grow, with sales increasing 8% to 270 homes, up from 251 homes. It also highlighted plans to expand in the North East, saying: “Despite the subdued market, we were in fact only marginally below our target due to a number of protracted chains, which resulted in these sales rolling over into 2025. Our aim is to continue to grow by expanding in the North East region where this year we will have five sites open, and then into the Midlands, where we have bought our first site in Bracebridge, Lincoln.”
Within land promotion, it said Hallam exceeded its 2024 financial performance expectations with 2,661 plots being sold, up from 1,944, as well as a “significant” employment land sale in Coventry. It welcomed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as positive and, in response, said the group intends to increase new applications to around 10,000 plots over the next 12 months - a huge increase on the previous year’s 2,660 plots.
However, it said that the construction segment performed below its expectations in a challenging market, generating turnover of £80.5m, down from £99.5m, with an operating profit of £4.9m, a drop from £6.5m. A new management team was appointed in July 2024, and “with a renewed focus on winning work, HBC starts the new year in a better position”.
Tim Roberts, chief executive officer, said: “As anticipated, after a challenging start to the year we delivered a strong second half which allowed us to report results in line with expectations. In particular, demand for our high quality land, prime development and premium homes has remained resilient. This led to us successfully completing almost £350m in land and property sales and continuing to lease up space, including setting a record office rent in Manchester at our Island development.
“Our investment portfolio also recorded another period of outperformance, with a total return of almost 10% for the year, meaning it has returned more than double the index over the last five years.
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“We also continued to shape the business, with the agreed buyout of Stonebridge Homes, where we are now the majority owner. We will take full ownership of this premium housebuilder in the coming years, continuing to scale the business up, and delivering synergies as we integrate it into Henry Boot.
“At Hallam Land, we’ve been quick off the mark in strengthening our team, so we are well prepared to capitalise on the positive changes to the NPPF, by increasing our planning applications fourfold to 10,000 plots over the next 12 months. At HBD, we’ve formed the Origin JV which we believe will help us to accelerate the delivery of our institutional quality industrial development pipeline.
“All of this, along with our rock-solid balance sheet, the prospect of recovering markets, and an easier planning environment, means we are well placed for the future.”