Watkin Jones plc
(‘Watkin Jones’ or the ‘Group’)
Development Partnership for 295 homes in St Helens
Watkin Jones, the UK’s leading developer and manager of residential properties for rent, is pleased to announce it has agreed to develop and deliver 295 new homes in a development partnership with Torus, the largest affordable housing provider in the North West of England, partly funded by Homes England.
The scheme is part of the Moss Nook development by Harworth Group, a large complex former industrial site in St Helens. It will deliver much-needed affordable tenures and sees the brownfield site regenerated as part of the wider masterplan, with initial phases already under construction by third parties.
Over the course of the development, the transaction is expected to generate revenue of approximately £48m for Watkin Jones, is in line with the Group’s stated margin targets, and has the potential to benefit from further value generated by the scheme in the future. The build programme is anticipated to take approximately 40 months to complete.
Alex Pease, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones, commented:
“Having supported Harworth Group in securing reserved matters planning permission in April 2024, we are delighted to continue our involvement with them and to have secured our first development partnership with Torus to deliver 295 homes, helping to address the growing demand for high-quality housing in the North West.“
“By leveraging our leading expertise in the development and construction of residential real estate, this collaboration highlights our ability to transact in what continues to be a challenging market environment, whilst implementing our strategy of diversifying our sources of income.“
“We look forward to the successful delivery of this project and exploring future opportunities together.“