Yorkshire property and development company S Harrison has reported record profits for 2018.
In the year to 31 December 2018 the Group delivered profits before tax of £12.4m (2017: £4.7m) on a turnover of £47.07m (2017: £29.2m). At the end of the year net assets totalled £55.9m (2017: £46.0m) of which £16.81m (2017: £7.3m) was held in cash.
Chairman Martyn Harrison said the company is excellently placed to build still further on its success, focusing on off market opportunities across Yorkshire and beyond.
“By any standards that is an excellent achievement,” said Martyn Harrison. He continued: “Despite a record profit performance in 2018, what pleases me more is the longer view. Because development is a business with peaks and troughs, a more important measure of success is the Group’s consistency of profit performance over time. Taking a rolling three year perspective to level out those peaks and troughs, the company continues to show sustained and impressive growth.”
In 2018 a significant proportion of S Harrison’s schemes focused on the hotel and student accommodation sectors with major schemes delivered for Leeds University, Hotel du Vin in Stratford and Travelodge in Lincoln. MD Ann Scott expects that emphasis to continue in 2019 and beyond. She said: “But, our strength in other sectors – private and social housing, office, retail and light industrial – enables us to capitalise on other opportunities when they arise, deploying our extensive cash reserves to kick-start schemes.”
S Harrison currently has a number of developments in progress across Yorkshire and beyond. In Whitby, the company is working with Thirteen Group company Tees Valley Housing to deliver 190 new homes for sale or rent. On an adjacent site at High Stakesby, S Harrison is looking to bring forward further homes for private sale.
In Leeds, it recently submitted a planning application for 322 private rented sector homes, a gym, café and commercial space at the city’s East Street gateway site. In Scotland, the company also owns a further four prominent sites in Edinburgh and Leith.
Looking ahead, Martyn Harrison said: “2019 and beyond will see us retain our focus on identifying off-market opportunities. Our independence, cash reserves and sound financial standing allow us to move quickly and decisively, often bringing to fruition schemes where others have seen no potential, or where others have tried and stalled.”
