Property and regeneration specialist Hargreaves Land is targeting new development opportunities with a particular focus on sites in Yorkshire, the North-West & Midlands, after launching a new ‘Central’ region to sit alongside its existing UK regional network.
Newly appointed development director, David Travis, has been tasked with increasing the firm’s development pipeline across this wider region to build on its current portfolio and complement its existing teams in the North East and Scotland. Travis will be joining the ‘Central’ region’s operations from a new Leeds office, which is set to open later in the year, and will predominantly target both strategic land and immediate development opportunities across a wide variety of potential uses.
Within its new ‘Central’ region, Hargreaves Land is already on site at its strategically important 250-hectare (618-acre) Unity regeneration scheme in Doncaster, where it is delivering 2 million ft2 of employment space and over 3,000 new homes alongside joint venture partner Waystone. The joint venture recently celebrated the opening of its new 2.4km link road, providing direct access to the scheme from Junction 5 of the M18 and completing the first phase of major enabling works on site.
In December, the firm also commenced construction of a new £9.5m retail warehouse scheme in Bridlington. The joint venture between Hargreaves Land and Fintry Estates will deliver 44,000 ft2 of floor space under a development agreement with East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The scheme, which has already secured pre-lets with major retailers Lidl and B&M Retail, is due for completion this summer.
David Anderson, group property director at Hargreaves Land, said: “Establishing our new ‘Central’ team in Leeds is a natural progression to continue the rapid evolution of our business and builds on the substantial investment we have already put into the wider region over the last couple of years.”
“David is a very important appointment for us as we look to focus our growth and acquire new sites to add to our development portfolio in what is a significant geographical area. He has a strong track record in successfully identifying and transacting viable opportunities and, in turn, spearheading the completion of a number of high-profile schemes across several different markets. We’re delighted to have him on board.”
Prior to joining Hargreaves Land, David Travis spent 5 years at Harworth Group Plc as director of the firm’s Business Space Division; delivering over 1 million ft2 of newly constructed space across schemes such as the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, Gateway36 in Barnsley, Gateway45 in Leeds and Logistics North in Bolton. Travis’ career to date also includes other recent roles with Gent Visick, Town Centre Securities Plc & HS2 and he brings to the table specialist experience in strategic planning, development, commercial funding, and public-private partnerships.
Mr Travis added: “This is a very exciting time to be joining Hargreaves Land as the business accelerates it’s’ continued growth and the role is ideally suited to my expertise and experience. I very much look forward to working alongside the existing team on Unity and our other schemes in the wider region; whilst focusing in the main on securing new opportunities for the portfolio and ultimately progressing these right through to completion.”
“Our status as part of a wider Plc allows us to bring credibility, accountability and substantial resources to any transaction – which is particularly evident in the fantastic work that has been undertaken across our Unity scheme to date. However, at the same time, our flexibility and nimbleness as an organisation means that we can make quick decisions to transact on possible greenfield or brownfield opportunities which incorporate a breadth of different partnerships and deal structures, without any rigid restrictions in place.”
Hargreaves Land is the property and land division of Hargreaves Services plc, an AIM-listed business which employs more than 2,000 people and delivers key projects and services in the property and industrial sectors. Led by renowned industry heavyweight David Anderson, the business continues to have a growing focus on optimising and increasing the development value of its retained 13,500-acre UK-wide land portfolio, operating with existing regions situated across the North East and Scotland.