Harworth says "opportunistically timed" bid from Peel undervalues firm
Harworth Group PLC on Friday rejected an offer from a subsidiary of its largest shareholder, Peel Holdings Group Ltd, stating that it "fundamentally undervalues" the firm and its near and longer-term prospects.
The Rotherham, England-based land regeneration company thinks the offer, announced on Thursday, has been "opportunistically timed" to take advantage of a material dislocation between its share price and the value of its underlying assets, which it believes is driven predominantly by macroeconomic factors.
Harworth said it remains confident in its ability to deliver attractive long-term returns for shareholders, as demonstrated by the group delivering an average 8.1% total accounting return over the past five years. It said there is embedded value in Harworth's 0.8 gigawatt power-enabled land bank that is still to be realised.
Peel Pepper (UK) Ltd, the Peel subsidiary making the bid, is offering Harworth shareholders 172.5p in cash per share, valuing the business at £582.9 million.
Another Peel subsidiary, Goodweather Holdings Ltd, and others acting concert with it, hold 97.9 million Harworth shares or a 29.96% stake. In Harworth's 2025 annual report, it showed Goodweather as its largest shareholder at 29.32%, ahead of London & Amsterdam Trust Co at 26.11%.
Harworth on Friday said it had no "substantive engagement" with Peel Pepper or Peel Holdings before the announcement.
Shares in Harworth were up 1.2% at 180.20p each in London on Friday afternoon.
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