Henry Boot announces sale of construction arm as interim profits jump

(Sharecast News) - Property developer Henry Boot has announced the sale of its loss-making construction business as it reported a big jump in revenues and a doubling of profits over the first half. The company is selling entire issued share capital of Henry Boot Construction (HBC) to HBC management - through a newly formed company PWS Construction - for £4m, funded by PWC via a vendor loan note issued by Henry Boot.

The deal, which Henry Boot said allows it to focus on the strategic priority areas of high quality land, prime property development and premium homes, comes at a price in excess of HBC's net assets, reducing the risk profile of the group and cutting headcount by 21%.

HBC made an operating loss of £2.7m in 2024, on revenues of £49.7m, but is expected to break even in 2025 following the appointment of a new management team.

The sale came as Henry Boot announced its interim results, which showed a 19% increase in revenues to £126.4m, driven by land and property disposals. Pre-tax profit surged to £7.8m from £3.7m the year before.

The company said that 80% of budgeted sales for 2025 have now been completed, exchanged or reserved.

The interim dividend by was raised by 5% to 3.24p.

"Operationally, we have had a solid first half, which is no mean feat in uncertain markets, but we are also making strong progress strategically," said chief executive Tim Roberts.

"With 80% of budgeted sales achieved, we have confidence of meeting full-year expectations, and we also have conviction that there are clear opportunities within our high quality portfolio to hit our medium term growth and return targets."