Harworth shares soar after £583m cash bid from Peel

Infrastructure giant Peel Group made a £582.8 million cash bid to buy up property firm Harworth this week, hoping to take the latter private.

Peel aims to purchase the rest of the shares from Harworth it currently does not own, moving from around 30 per cent to full ownership.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, Peel would pay 172.5 pence in cash for each Harworth share.

Bosses said they believe the offer represents a “compelling opportunity” for Harworth to realise full liquidity for its shareholders “at fair value”.

Harworth shares rocketed after the announcement yesterday (6 August), reaching between 20-24 per cent at 173-178 pence, according to ShareCast. 

The firm owns and manages a portfolio of assets but mainly industrial & logistics properties and strategic land holdings in the North and the Midlands.

A long-standing investor in Harworth, Peel, which is owned by British billionaire John Whittaker, said the former would be “best owned, managed and developed” under its control.

It is understood Harworth had ‘no foresight’ of the deal before Peel’s announcement on the London Stock Exchange.

Harworth previously announced its intention to position its portfolio to 85 per cent industrial & logistics and reduce its residential exposure to below 15 per cent by 2029.

In a half-year trading update issued this week, bosses said Harworth had made “good progress towards this goal”, reporting a 70 per cent weighting at the end of 2025.

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