THE company behind the Logistics North industrial development in Bolton has announced its full year results.

Developers Harworth Estates is building a 4 million sq ft distribution and manufacturing centre at the former Cutacre open cast mine site off the M61 near Over Hulton.

The site is home to a number of huge firms including Whistl, Aldi, Lidl, MBDA, and Joy Global. We recently reported how Amazon will be opening a huge base at the site later this year - creating 1,200 jobs.

Harworth says its results are impressive and show continued growth over the 12 months

Financial highlights include:

• Earnings per share up 15.4 per cent to 15.8p (2016: 13.7p)

• Dividend per share increased by 10 per cent to 0.828p

Operational highlights include:

• Planning secured for the delivery of 825 residential plots and over 3m sq. ft of commercial space, bringing the consented portfolio to 10,448 residential plots and 12.13m sq. ft of commercial space

• 622 residential plots sold (2016: 619 residential plots), across six parcels achieving profit on sale of £3.8m; in addition, over 850,000 sq. ft of commercial land sold across five parcels for £22.7m, delivering a profit on sale of £4.3m

• March 2017 £27.1m equity proceeds fully invested through the acquisition of five sites, providing over 410 acres of development opportunities

• Over 360,000 sq. ft of long-term lettings completed on five new commercial buildings

Post-period highlights:

• Strongest ever start to a year with over 50 per cent of expected full year 2018 sales agreed above book value

Chief Executive, Owen Michaelson, said: “Our focus, on the “beds and sheds” sectors in the North of England and the Midlands, is firmly underpinned by strong economic and consumer trends in the regions, and reinforced by supportive government policy. This favourable backdrop coupled with active management has been reflected in 2017’s planning successes and the sales and lettings achieved at our major developments such as Waverley and Logistics North.

“Whilst our existing sites continue to perform well and have plenty of future potential, we are also pleased with the progress of the five new acquisitions to our strategic landbank, which were acquired with the cash proceeds from new equity raised last March. These acquisitions delivered significant revaluation gains in 2017 and provide a substantial pipeline for us to deliver further value gains through our market-leading planning and development expertise.

“2018 has started strongly, with over 50% of expected full year sales already agreed since the year-end and the completion of three new lettings generating additional recurring income, further demonstrating the success of our proven and robust strategy. This performance, together with the supportive market fundamentals in the areas in which we operate, means we look to the future with confidence.”