23 sep 25   boot(henry) plc - half-year report henry boot plc | boot | 218 0 0.0% | mkt cap: 292.9m    rns number : 3380a boot(henry) plc 23 september 2025   23 september 2025   henry boot plc ('henry boot', the 'company' or the 'group') ticker: boot.l: main market premium listing: ftse: real estate investment and services.   unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 june 2025 sales performance drives growth in profitability and underpins increased dividend   henry boot plc, a company engaged in land promotion, property investment and development, home building and construction, announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 june 2025.   tim roberts, chief executive officer, commented:   'operationally, we have had a solid first half, which is no mean feat in uncertain markets, but we are also making strong progress strategically. in particular, early investment into the resources at hallam land, anticipating positive changes to the nppf, are already bearing fruit in the form of a good first half, both in terms of sales and planning consents. equally, although trading is more subdued, in hbd and stonebridge homes, we have grasped the opportunity to build up a store of near-term opportunity, respectively, in the development pipeline and home building landbank. the announced sale of hbc also tightens our focus on our chosen areas of land promotion, development and home building. 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.'   financial highlights   ·      19% increase in revenue to £126.4m (h1 24: £106.0m) driven by land and property disposals and profit before tax of £7.8m (h1 24: £3.7m) or £6.5m (h1 24: £3.6m) on an underlying statutory basis1 ·      completed and exchanged on total land and property sales of £159.6m, our share £99.3m (h1 24: £150.8m), against an uncertain backdrop reflecting resilient demand for our prime projects and buildings   ·      80% of budgeted sales for 2025 completed, exchanged or reserved, with the balance either under offer or in detailed negotiations.   ·      5% increase in interim dividend to 3.24p, consistent with our progressive dividend policy and our confidence in achieving full year performance in line with market expectations and in the group's future prospects   ·      return on capital employed2 (roce) of 9.1% (h1 24: 4.9%). we remain confident of achieving returns within the target range of 10-15% over the medium term   ·      capital employed at £427m (december 2024: £439m), reflecting the first tranche payment of the stonebridge homes (sbh) acquisition in line with the group's ambition to grow its home building business   ·      the group's net asset value3 (nav) per share, excluding the defined benefit scheme, was 304p (31 december 2024: 312p). the nav per share was 307p as of 30 june (december 2024: 317p)   ·      net debt4 at £88.1m (december 2024: £62.7m) with gearing at 21.4% (december 2024: 14.7%) as we invest in accelerating planning applications on hallam land sites, grow sbh's land bank and position the business for future growth   operational highlights   ·      land promotion o  hallam land has had a strong start to 2025, with 1,222 plots sold in the first half (h1 24: 843), with 410 plots exchanged, and another 1,959 plots under offer. we are on target to exceed 3,500 plot sales this year (december 2024: 2,661) o  following the amendments to the national planning policy framework (nppf) and investment in our workforce and systems, we are on track to submit applications for 10,000 plots this year. to date planning for 4,844 plots has been submitted o  we have secured planning on 2,782 plots year to date, with 1,237 in h1 25. this brings our total plots with planning to 8,837 as of 30 june (december 2024: 8,822), or 9,972 including post-half-year consents o  the total land bank has grown to 107,173 plots (december 2024: 104,787)   ·      property investment & development o  the origin joint venture (jv) with feldberg capital, seeded by three sites with a combined gross development value (gdv) of £100m, is progressing well, with good occupier interest and its first pre-let secured. the jv is expected to add a further £56m gdv in h2 25 o  we have a high quality committed development programme with a gdv of £128m (our share: £37m) as well as a strong near term pipeline, including the first phase (£98m gdv) of golden valley, cheltenham, an innovation and technology project located adjacent to gchq o  £1.5bn development pipeline (our share: £1.3bn gdv), of which 56% is focused on industrial & logistics (i&l) markets o  our investment portfolio (ip) total property return5 of 5.7%, was again ahead of the cbre uk monthly index (4.2%). four sales were completed or exchanged in h1 25 for a total of c.£18m at an average 12% premium. ip now valued at £96.1m (december 2024: £107.4m)   ·      home building o  in january 2025, the group increased its ownership in sbh to 62.5%, and integration has been progressing well o  during the period, sbh completed 85 homes (h1 24: 90 homes), with private average sales price on completions up 3% to £391k (h1 24: £381k) o  net private weekly reservation rate was 0.45 in h1 25 (h1 24: 0.50), operating from an average of 9 sales outlets (h1 24: 8 outlets) o  in line with its growth ambitions, sbh has secured 846 plots in the period, resulting in a total owned and controlled land bank of 2,487 plots (december 2024: 1,726)   ·      construction o  the construction segment achieved turnover of £41.0m (h1 24: £43.5m) with an operating profit of £1.9m (h1 24: £2.9m) o  sale of henry boot construction has been agreed for £4.0m with completion around ye 25   ·      responsible business o  we are making good progress towards our medium term responsible business strategy targets set in january 2022, which will be refreshed in 2026   notes:   1        underlying profit before tax is an alternative performance measure (apm) and is defined as profit before tax excluding revaluation movements on completed investment properties. revaluation movement on completed investment properties includes gains of £1.3m (2024: £nil) on wholly owned completed investment property and gains of £nil (2024: £0.1m) on completed investment property held in joint ventures. this apm provides the users with a measure that excludes specific external factors beyond management's controls and reflects the group's underlying results. this measure is used in the business in appraising senior management performance.   2        return on capital employed (roce) is an apm and is a 12 month rolling average defined as operating profit /average of total assets less current liabilities (excluding db pension surplus) at the opening and closing balance sheet dates.   3        net asset value (nav) per share is an apm and defined using the statutory measures net assets/ordinary share capital.   4        net (debt)/cash is an apm and is reconciled to statutory measures in note 14.   5        total property return is a metric that combines capital and income returns for the investment portfolio. it is calculated as the percentage value change plus net income accrual, relative to the capital employed and is calculated on a monthly basis and then indexed in line with the benchmark.   for further information, please contact:   enquiries: henry boot plc tim roberts, chief executive officer darren littlewood, chief financial officer daniel boot, senior corporate communications manager tel: 0114 255 5444 www.henryboot.co.uk   deutsche numis joint corporate broker oliver hardy/heraclis economides tel: 0207 260 1000   peel hunt llp joint corporate broker ed allsopp/pete mackie tel: 0207 418 8900   fti consulting financial pr giles barrie/richard sunderland tel: 020 3727 1000 henryboot@fticonsulting.com   a webcast for analysts and investors will be held at 9.30am today and presentation slides will be available to download via www.henryboot.co.uk. details for the live dial-in facility and webcast are as follows:   participants (uk): tel: +44 (0) 33 0551 0200 password: henry boot webcast link: https://stream.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/689a03bb2d863300135196d3   about henry boot henry boot is one of the uk's leading land, property development, home building and construction businesses - and we've been transforming land and spaces since 1886. listed on the london stock exchange since 1919, we're renowned for quality, expertise, delivery and a partnership approach across the group - which comprises, hallam land, hbd, stonebridge, henry boot construction, banner plant and road link.   operating across the uk, and employing over 500 people, we focus on three key markets: urban development, industrial and logistics and residential. hallam land has facilitated 52,000 new homes since 1990, managing one of the top five largest land portfolios in the country, with the potential to facilitate over 107,000 homes. hbd manages a development pipeline of £1.3bn, the equivalent of 8.3m sq ft of developments across our key markets, while maintaining a £96.1m investment portfolio, of which 90% of the properties have an epc rating of 'c' or higher. stonebridge homes, our jointly-owned home building business, manages a land portfolio capable of delivering c.2,500 homes, with an ambition to deliver up to 600 new homes a year.   henry boot construction has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, including major projects such as the £200m regeneration of barnsley town centre, and the cocoa works, a £57m residential development in york. for over 65 years, banner plant has supplied construction products and services, operating from seven regional depots in the north of england.   we have also developed an ambitious responsible business strategy to help us meet our aim of being net zero carbon by 2030, and to deliver, by 2025, charitable, community and education work valued at £1m.   from land promotion, property development and investment to home building, construction and plant hire, henry boot is where great places start - www.henryboot.co.uk   ceo's review   henry boot has delivered a solid performance in the first six months of this year, generating a profit before tax of £7.8m (h1 24: £3.7m). despite the ongoing global political and economic uncertainty, demand for our prime property has remained resilient, and particularly strong for our high quality residential land.  according to cbre, the volume of uk commercial property transactions totalled £21.9bn in h1 25, a decrease of 18% compared to h1 2024. however, more encouragingly, rolling 12-month investment volumes were up 6% on the prior 12 months. whilst there has been a slowdown in investment volumes in alternative sectors such as build to rent residential and student accommodation, this has been more than offset by increased transactions in the industrial, office and retail sectors over the last year.          house prices increased by 0.6% during h1 25 according to nationwide. completions of new homes increased by 16% year on year during h1 25 but remain some way below the post covid-19 peak in 2022. in the land market there has been an increase in activity as housebuilders selectively acquire sites, with an emphasis on prime locations. this continues to be the focal point for hallam land, our land promotion business. against this subdued market backdrop, our strategic focus on high quality land, prime property development and premium homes allowed us to complete and/or exchange on total land and property sales of £159.6m, our share £99.3m (our share h1 24: £150.8m). as of 14 september, the total had risen to £172.0m (our share £111.9m), reflecting further progress post period end. completing these sales allows us to crystallise the significant uplift in value we have created, due to assets being held at cost. as flagged in our fy 24 results announcement in march, a lower starting forward sales position, the delay between increased activity and the timing of key transactions means the fy 25 performance is weighted heavily to the second half. this follows a similar pattern to last year, where our performance over the final six months allowed us to deliver results in line with expectations. with further sales completed since the period end, we are confident of again achieving a full year performance in line with market expectations*. since amendments were made to the nppf earlier this year, there have been significant improvements in securing outline consents. in anticipation of this, in 2024, we completed a strategic workforce plan within hallam land, making the early decision to increase resources and fast-track a number of planning applications, with a target to submit applications for 10,000 plots this year. i am pleased to say that having submitted planning for 4,844 plots year to date and with a significant pipeline of applications ready to submit in the coming months, we are on track to achieve our goal. we have achieved planning on 2,782 plots year to date, of which 1,237 plots (h1 24: 332) were secured in h1 25. this means we have increased our store of worth with planning for 9,972 plots, with 8,837 plots at 30 june (december 2024: 8,822). all these sites continue to be held at cost, materially understating our conservatively assessed nav.   hallam land has experienced good demand for its prime deliverable sites year to date, completing and exchanging on 1,792 plots at a total gross sales value of £113.5m (hallam land share £41.5m). with a further 1,799 plots under offer, we are on track to exceed our medium term target of selling 3,500 plots this year. while the government's amendments to the nppf have improved the process for securing outline consents, including an uptick in success at appeal, the same progress has not been seen for obtaining detailed consents. many local planning authorities remain under resourced, which has extended the timeframe for decisions and subsequently delayed the opening of new outlets across the home building industry. if the government is to meet its target of delivering 1.5 million homes by 2030, it must address this issue. the net private reservation rate per active sales outlet per week in h1 25 was 0.45 (h1 24: 0.50) as many of our customers took longer to commit to buying homes in an environment which for them had become more uncertain. we have therefore seen softer trading conditions during the summer period, with our sales rate also affected by several of our active sites nearing completion and consequently not offering the full product range. whilst we have made good progress growing our total land bank, reservation levels have also been impacted by delays in securing detailed planning at whitby, barnby dunn and market rasen, which reduced the opening of new sales outlets. the net private reservation rate for the 6 weeks to 14 september was 0.38. as a result, total home completions for 2025 are now anticipated to be c.240-250. there remains a long term structural undersupply of housing in our targeted regions, and we maintain our medium term ambition to build 600 homes per annum. over the past 12 months, due to slower occupier demand as businesses extend decision making in the current unsettled environment and more uncertain investment markets, we have been selective in replenishing hbd's committed development programme. we have however, continued to build up a strong near-term pipeline, which offers us optionality to increase our commitments and respond swiftly when market conditions improve. a standout scheme in our near‑term pipeline is golden valley, cheltenham, a £1bn flagship mixed use campus adjacent to gchq, focused on national security and emerging technologies such as ai and quantum computing. this world‑class innovation district will eventually deliver around 2,500 new homes, 1.25m sq ft of commercial space with the national cyber innovation centre at its heart and support the creation of almost 12,000 jobs. in july, we received outline planning consent for approximately 1m sq ft of prime commercial space, including idea, a 160,000 sq ft national cyber innovation centre, along with 576 residential units. we expect to commit to phase one (£98m gdv) in h1 26. i believe our involvement in a government backed project of this importance is a great reflection of our team's track record of delivering high quality large scale innovation led projects. our credentials in this growth sector are further strengthened by hbd's recent appointment as the development partner at 'duxford avtech', a £162m gdv technology campus at iwm duxford. another key element of hbd's development programme is our 25:75 i&l jv with feldberg capital, origin, which was seeded with three sites from our pipeline with a combined gdv of c.£100m. the jv, which was only formed in december 2024, is running well, with all the schemes progressing on time and on budget. we have also seen a good level of occupier interest. we are looking to profitably accelerate the development of a further seven units at walsall, markham vale, and preston, with a total gdv of £56m (our share: £14m) by transferring the sites into the jv. the schemes are set to be added to the committed development programme by the year end. the group's ip has once again performed well, with a total property return over six months of 5.7%, which is ahead of the cbre uk monthly index at 4.2%. on a like-for-like basis capital values in the ip increased by 2.0% in h1 25. in the first six months of the year, we have either completed or exchanged on four sales, for a total of £17.7m at an average 12% premium to 31 december book value. as a result, at 30 june the ip was valued at £96.1m (31 december 2024: £107.4m). our focus has been on recycling capital rather than acquiring standing investments, completing disposals of c.£59.4m over the past four years at an average of 16% above book value. this strategy has been accretive to performance. during the first half of the year and including post h1 sales up to 14 september, 80% of budgeted sales for 2025 have either been completed, exchanged or reserved. significant transactions that have exchanged or are anticipated to complete this year, include: ·      queniborough, leicestershire (hallam land) - in september, we exchanged on the sale of 160 residential plots to harpur crewe. the sale is scheduled to complete in october. ·      origin (hbd) - a site with the potential to deliver three units totalling 101,000 sq ft at spark, walsall has been conditionally exchanged for sale into our origin jv. the transaction is expected to complete in h2 25. the remaining transactions which are in advanced discussions, once completed in h2 25, will mean we hit our sales target for 2025. this includes securing sbh's completion target of c.240-250 units, of which 124 units are either completed or exchanged as of 14 september, with a further 68 units reserved. there are several other deals across the group also in negotiation: ·      across hallam land's portfolio, a total of 1,799 plots across four sites are currently under offer, which, when concluded, will see hallam land exceed its financial target for 2025. ·      the chocolate works in york (hbd) - the sale of the final two-acre development site is under offer to a national developer. we expect the sale to complete in q4 25. ·      aptus, preston (hbd), a site with outline planning for three units totalling 107,000 sq ft, is under offer to be transferred into our origin jv. the group's nav per share, excluding the defined benefit scheme, was at 304p (december 2024: 312p) after the payment of the increased final dividend for 2024 of 4.62p and completion of the first tranche of the sbh acquisition. the ifrs nav per share was 307p as at 30 june (december 2024: 317p).  net debt was £88.1m as at 30 june 2025 (december 2024: £62.7m), reflecting an acceleration of planning applications on hallam land sites and the growth of sbh's landbank, with acquisitions at bracebridge heath and kingston village (total 641 plots). this has resulted in an increase in our gearing to 21.4% as at 30 june 2025 (december 2024: 14.7%), although it is below the 25.5% level this time last year. while this is marginally above our optimal 10-20% range, our gearing remains relatively low, and this gives us the flexibility to utilise our existing borrowing facilities to continue to invest in growing the business where there are good opportunities to do so. we remain committed to investing in our long term future, and so far this year, we have made good strategic progress. i am glad to report the following: ·      we have agreed the sale of henry boot construction (hbc) to pws, a new company formed by the hbc management team, for £4m. this transaction aligns with the group's focus on high-quality land, prime property development and premium homes. i believe a more focused portfolio will better serve shareholders by enhancing synergies and long-term growth prospects while simplifying the group's structure and investment case. the transaction is expected to be completed around the year end. ·      in january 2025, the group increased its ownership in sbh to 62.5%. we immediately initiated an integration plan and identified a list of quick wins, which have already been implemented. additional integration benefits and cost savings, including working with hallam land to set up a strategic land portfolio, merging and rationalising centralised services with our group central functions, will be achieved as we grow our ownership. in h1 25, we also added 846 plots to our landbank as we scale up the business to align with our growth aspirations. ·      we are modernising our digital and technology capabilities. this summer we began to successfully roll out microsoft dynamics 365, which will digitise processes within henry boot, store information and support group collaboration. at the same time, we are increasing our use of ai to improve business processes.  *market expectations being the average of current analyst consensus of £30.0m profit before tax, comprising four forecasts from deutsche numis, jefferies, panmure liberum and peel hunt. dividend the board has declared an interim dividend of 3.24p (h1 24: 3.08p), with the 5% increase demonstrating our progressive dividend policy and continued confidence in the future prospects for the business. this will be paid on 24 october 2025 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 3 october 2025. strategy the group set a medium-term strategy in 2021 to grow the size of the business by increasing capital employed from £365m to £500m, focusing on its three key markets: i&l, residential and urban development, while maintaining roce within a 10-15% range. see below for the progress made in the first half of 2025 against our stated medium term targets: measure medium term target h1 25 performance  progress capital employed to over £500m £427m as at 30 june 2025 on track to grow capital employed to over £500m return on average capital employed 10-15% pa 12-month rolling roce of 9.1% maintain our medium term target through the cycle land promotion plot sales c.3,500 pa 1,222 plots in h1 25 on course for fy 25 to exceed sales of 3,500 plots development completions our share c.£200m pa fy 25 £42m gdv expect to be below target due to selective replenishment of the committed programme. a strong near term pipeline allows us to increase commitments as markets improve grow investment portfolio to around £150m £96.1m as at 30 june 2025 focus on profitably recycling capital instead of acquiring new investments. will remain patient in growing the portfolio stonebridge homes sales up to 600 units pa 85 homes completed in hy 25 total home completions for 2025 to be c.240-250, reflecting market conditions and delay in opening new sales outlets. our firm ambition remains up to 600 homes pa.  construction order book secured minimum of 65% for the following year 45% at h1 25 for 2026 on course to meet target   responsible business we launched our responsible business strategy (rbs) in january 2022, with our primary aim to be net zero carbon by 2030 with respect to scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions. i am pleased with the progress we have made so far against our 2025 objectives and targets. our strategy is guided by three principal objectives: ·      to further embed esg factors into commercial decision making so that the business adapts, ensuring long term sustainability and value creation for the group's stakeholders. ·      to empower and engage our people to deliver long term meaningful change and impact for the communities and environments henry boot works in. ·      to focus on issues deemed to be most significant and material to the business and hold ourselves accountable by reporting regularly on progress. performance against our 2025 targets at the midpoint of our final year for the 2025 responsible business targets, the table below highlights the significant progress we have made. we are pleased that we are on track to achieve the majority of our goals before we refresh our rbs in 2026.   our people performance our places performance develop and deliver a group-wide health and wellbeing strategy   delivery is underway, including the launch of a financial wellbeing programme with finwell and a well-established network of mental health first aiders. contribute £1,000,000 of financial (and equivalent) value to our charitable partners we have contributed (financial and equivalent value of) over £990,000 to our charitable and community partners. increase gender representation in the business, aiming for 30% of our team and line managers being female female representation across our workforce has increased to 30% (2024: 29%). contribute 7,500 volunteering hours to a range of community, charity, and education projects more than 10,000 volunteering hours have been delivered, meaning we have already significantly exceeded our goal. our planet performance our partners performance reduce scope 1 and 2 ghg emissions by over 20% to support reaching nzc by 2030 total direct ghg emissions (scopes 1 and 2) in 2024 were 2,989 tonnes (2023: 2,833 tonnes), which equates to a 10% reduction from the 2019 baseline. engage key partners to create a more diverse and inclusive built environment sector and form business-led partnerships to improve edi edi working group has engaged with organisations including the cbi and bitc to collaborate with business and supplier partners to review initiatives to improve diversity. reduce consumption of avoidable plastic by 50% waste management plan due for implementation to enable baselining and reduction in avoidable plastic. collaborate with all our partners to reduce our environmental impact we continue to engage with membership organisations and our supply chain to share knowledge and best practice.   outlook despite starting the year in an uncertain market environment, demand for our prime projects remains resilient, and we continue to make good strategic progress by increasing our focus on land promotion, property development and home building. this, alongside the day to day activities within the group are enabling us to further expand our strong pipeline of opportunities, while crystalising value within our portfolio.   significant steps include the sale of hbc and the agreed route to full ownership of sbh. now that we are the majority owner of sbh, we have greater autonomy to both grow and improve its landbank, while continuing to establish the brand and its network of sites across our three targeted regions. we expect this strategy will drive volume growth and return on capital as the business scales up. we have also started to extract synergies and efficiencies through integrating the business into henry boot.   hallam land has had a particularly good half in terms of sales, planning consents and applications. the nppf has established a presumption in favour of development and, while planning remains slow and complicated, we can skilfully navigate the system to create value within this improved policy framework. during the life of this parliament, it is hallam land's firm intention to materially increase our plots with planning and, in so doing, build up a material store of future profit.   similarly, hbd is well positioned with a strong near term development pipeline including smart jv's like origin and nationally significant schemes like golden valley. having taken a highly selective approach to starting developments over the past few years, we expect to grow our committed developments as early as next year, while remaining disciplined in our approach and attuned to market conditions.   this all provides a clear path of growth, which as a well funded, long term business, we are able to pursue. in the meantime, with 80% of budgeted sales secured, we are on course to meet our full-year expectations, and our balance sheet remains rock solid. this puts us in a strong position for the future and gives us confidence to once again increase the dividend, by 5%.   business review   land promotion hallam land has performed strongly, delivering an operating profit of £13.8m, which was more than three times the amount in the comparable period last year (h1 24: £4.2m). this was from sales of 1,222 plots (h1 24: 843), with a further 410 plots exchanged and another 1,959 plots under offer, all of which are targeted for completion in 2025. this leaves hallam land well positioned to exceed sales of 3,500 plots this year. uk greenfield land values were broadly unchanged in h1 25, softening slightly by 0.3% according to savills research. whilst there has been an overall increase in activity during 2025, deals continue to take longer to progress than in the post covid-19 bounce back period. changes to the nppf introduced in 2025 are starting to filter through into the land market in terms of achieving outline planning. unfortunately, this has not yet been reflected in detailed consents with 36% fewer homes across the uk granted full approval consent in the 12 months to june 2025, compared with the 2021 peak, according to the home builders federation. during the period, hallam land has seen strong demand for its high quality land, achieving an average gross profit per plot of £15,734 (h1 24: £9,680) from 1,222 disposals across 8 sites. these sales delivered an average ungeared internal rate of return of 22.5% p.a and include: ·      75 residential plots at ambrosden, oxfordshire, to mulberry homes, which were particularly profitable for the group, given the site's freehold status. the site was acquired in 2014, with outline planning granted in december 2023. ·      290 residential plots at sittingbourne, kent, to taylor wimpey. in 2017, hallam land entered into a promotion agreement and submitted an outline planning application in november 2022. after an initial refusal in 2022, consent was successfully secured on appeal in july 2024. ·      112 residential plots at yalding, kent to fernham homes. hallam land purchased the freehold of the site in 2018 and submitted a planning application in november 2023 in line with the draft allocation. hallam land appealed in may 2024 on the basis of non-determination and successfully secured approval in december 2024.  during h1 25 hallam land have exchanged or completed on the sale of a further 570 plots. at 30 june 2025, an additional 1,799 plots were under offer at sites located in tamworth, hambleton, haverhill and carlton selby. when agreed, together with those sites already exchanged and completed, this will exceed hallam land's financial target for 2025. in the first half of this year, following the government's revision to the nppf, hallam land has seen positive changes to the planning system, which have significantly increased our ability to secure outline consents. in the year to date, hallam land has secured planning on 2,782 plots, of which 1,237 plots were granted in the first half of the year (h1 24: 332). this brings the total number of plots within the portfolio with planning permission (or a resolution to grant, subject to s106) to 9,972 plots or, as of 30 june, 8,837 plots (december 2024: 8,822). there are also a further 14,604 plots currently awaiting determination, of which 1,189 plots are subject to appeal. hallam land has been successful in utilising the appeal system to unlock more sites with appeals won on 1,986 plots across 5 sites in h1 25. in response to the easing of planning policy, hallam land continues to accelerate applications in line with its target of submitting 10,000 plots this year and helping deliver much-needed homes across the country. hallam land is making good progress on this ambition, submitting 4,844 plots year to date, and we anticipate maintaining this momentum in 2026. hallam land has grown its land bank to 107,173 plots (december 2024: 104,787), securing 8 new sites which have the potential to deliver 3,608 plots. there is significant latent value in the group's strategic land portfolio, which is held as inventory at the lower of cost or net realisable value. as such, no uplift in value is recognised within its accounts relating to any of the 8,837 plots with planning and any increase in value created from securing planning permission is only crystallised into profit on disposal.  residential land plots            with permission in planning future total  b/f granted sold c/f 2025 8,822 1,237 (1,222) 8,837 14,604 83,732 107,173 2024 8,501 2,982 (2,661) 8,822 13,146 82,819 104,787 2023  9,431  1,014  (1,944)  8,501  13,468  79,003  100,972 2022  12,865  435  (3,869)  9,431  12,297  73,976  95,704 2021  15,421  452  (3,008)  12,865  11,259  68,543  92,667   property investment and development property investment and development, which is now solely made up of hbd, has delivered an operating profit of £0.8m (h1 24: £3.2m). the results of sbh have been reclassified from the property investment and development segment to be reported within home building, and the prior period restated. according to the cbre monthly index, commercial property values increased by 1.4% in h1 25. industrial property continues to deliver the highest growth with capital values up 2.0% during the period ahead of retail up 1.6%, and offices up 0.8%. rental value growth also remains strongest for the industrial sector at 2.0% in h1 25, with yields broadly unchanged over the period. industrial and logistics, a sector where long-term growth is underpinned by a number of structural societal drivers, experienced a 10% increase in take-up compared to h1 24. although it remains below the exceptional bounce during covid-19, demand is back in line with the 10-year average. activity has been driven by internet retailers and third-party logistics providers as well as by manufacturers looking to de-risk supply chains through nearshoring operations. whilst the overall vacancy rate has risen, relatively moderate development activity and stronger demand for modern energy-efficient space means that new-build availability remains more constrained. it is also anticipated that the increase in defence spending will increase occupier demand for the sector. committed programme as at 30 june 2025 scheme gdv (£m) hbd share of gdv (£m) commercial ('000 sq ft) residential size (units) status completion        industrial       origin, markham, ark 20 5 107 - speculative / part pre let q4 25 origin, welwyn, inter 28 7 71 - speculative/ part under offer q3 25 origin, walsall spark 52 13 271 - speculative q4 25 preston, roman way 10 5 150 - pre-sold                                               q4 25 southend, abp 4 4 16 - pre-let q4 25  114 34 615 -   urban residential       aberdeen, bridge of don 12 1 - 420 pre-sold q3 25 land & other       leicester, melton road 2 2 20 - pre-sold q2 25        total for the year 128 37 635 420          % sold or pre-let 35% 40%*         *this includes space pre-let or under offer in the joint venture origin at 14/09/25 hbd's committed development programme has marginally increased since the year end to £128m (hbd share: £37m gdv) following the addition of a c.16,500 sq ft logistics unit at southend. some 40% of the schemes in the committed programme have been pre-let or pre-sold. the majority of the schemes are in i&l, including those held in our origin jv, with feldberg capital. initially, the jv was seeded with three schemes from our development pipeline, with a combined gdv of c.£100m (hbd share: £25m). all three of these projects are on programme and are attracting a good level of occupier interest, and in september origin secured its first pre-let, a 17,000 sq ft unit at ark, markham vale to capital angling, while at welwyn garden city another c.18,000 sq ft unit is under offer. origin will continue to grow in h2 25, with a further three sites from hbd's pipeline either exchanged or under offer to be sold profitably into the jv. the three schemes have a total gdv of £56m (hbd share: £14m) and comprise: o  aptus, preston (jv) - three units with planning totalling 107,000 sq ft are under offer to be transferred into the origin jv. building works are expected to commence in q4 25. o  spark, walsall (phase two) - in august 2025, a reserved matters planning application was secured for three units consisting of 101,000 sq ft. construction is expected to begin in q4 25. o  ark, markham vale (phase two) - post h1 25, a planning application for a further 54,000 sq ft has been submitted. subject to the consent being granted, work is expected to start in q4 25. after taking a more prudent approach to committing to new projects due to market conditions over the past 12 months, hbd has built a strong near term pipeline. this includes: o  the landmark £1bn golden valley, located adjacent to gchq in cheltenham. in july, the scheme received outline planning permission for around 1m sq ft of prime commercial space, including idea, the new 160,000 sq ft national cyber innovation centre referred to in the uk government's modern industrial strategy, as well as 576 residential units of various tenures. this first phase of the development (£98m gdv) is set to begin in h1 26. o  c.3.8m sq ft of i&l schemes with planning permission at various flagship projects, including walsall, southend, luton and preston. o  humber goole freeport south (phase one: £130m gdv), in partnership with st john's college cambridge, a resolution to grant has been achieved in relation to an outline planning consent to develop a 5.5m sq ft high quality, sustainable industrial and manufacturing park, with buildings ranging from 40,000 sq ft to 1m sq ft. updates on recently completed key projects include: o  island, (hbd share: £33m gdv), the net zero carbon office in manchester city centre, developed in a jv with greater manchester pension fund, 50% has been leased to virgin media and with fit-out on track, the occupier is aiming to move in by q4 25. following the successful launch, we are progressing well with leasing the remaining space. o  at setl (hbd share: £32m gdv), a 102-unit premium apartment building in birmingham, we have increased sales by 43% since the beginning of the year, with total sales having either completed or unconditionally exchanged now at c.£20m (december: c.£14m). all sales to date have been completed in line with target price levels. following further progress post period end, as at 14 september 91% of the units are now sold or reserved. o  finally, at momentum rainham, (an 80:20 jv with barings), a four unit nzc i&l development, hbd continue to progress discussions with potential occupiers, with letting activity in the mid and large box market in greater london remaining limited in h1 25. hbd's future total development pipeline has grown to £1.5bn gdv (hbd share: £1.3bn gdv). all these opportunities sit within the company's three key markets of i&l (56%), urban commercial (22%) and urban residential (22%). post half year, hbd has been appointed the development partner of 'duxford avtech', adding £162m gdv to its development pipeline. the project totals 435,000 sq ft and is set to create a technology campus that will be at the intersection of academia, industry and government, dedicated to developing low and zero carbon aircraft technology at iwm duxford, 8 miles south of cambridge city centre. hbd is targeting high sustainability credentials for the new campus, including breeam excellent and an epc a+ rating. investment portfolio - key stats  jun 2025 dec 2024 market values - inc. share of jvs £96.1m £107.4m total area - '000 sq ft 607 767 'topped-up' net initial yield 5.7% 5.5% reversionary yield 6.8% 6.7% wault to expiry¹ 10.0 years 9.7 years occupancy² 94% 94%   ¹weighted average unexpired lease term (wault) on commercial properties ²as a percentage of completed property portfolio estimated rental value (erv) the ip has continued to outperform the wider market, with a total property return of 5.7% for h1, which was ahead of the total return from the cbre uk monthly index (4.2%). since 2022, hbd has focused on recycling capital from its investment portfolio rather than acquiring standing investments, completing on c.£59.4m sales over the past 4 years at an average premium of 16%. this has continued in h1 25, with hbd exchanging and/or completing on four sales, for a total of £17.7m representing an average 12% premium to december 2024 book values. this includes two45, skelmersdale, where we secured planning for 245,000 sq ft of industrial space, representing a 66% increase in size on the original building. the sale to garbe, a german fund, for £9.5m was completed in june and generated an ungeared irr of 25% p.a. as a result of sales, the total value of the ip (including our share of completed jv investment properties and assets held for sale) stands at £96.1m (december 2024: £107.4m). on a like-for-like basis capital values increased by 2.0% in h1 25, with rental value growth of 2.9% for the i&l assets which represent 73% of the total portfolio by value. during the period, occupancy remained at 94% (december 2024: 94%) with the weighted average unexpired lease term now 10.0 years (8.3 years to first break). currently, 90% of the ip (based on floor area) has an epc rating of 'c' or higher, with 52% being rated 'a' or 'b'. the 10% of the portfolio that does not have an epc within the target range is allocated for either redevelopment, refurbishment or sale in the short to medium term.     home building the results of sbh have been reclassified from property investment and development to be reported as home building and the prior period restated. sbh delivered 85 home completions in h1 25 (h1 24: 90) and revenue of £30.0m (h1 24: £29.2m) with an operating loss of £(2.0)m (h1 24: £(0.5)m). the average sales price (asp) for private units completed in the period was £391,000, a 3% increase on the same period last year (h1 24: £381,000). housing completions in 2025 are expected to be h2 weighted in line with previous years. according to nationwide, after taking account of seasonal effects, uk house prices increased by 0.6% during h1 25, with growth impacted by the increase in stamp duty at the start of april. according to the national house building council, the number of new homes registered in h1 25 was up 16% on h1 24, but the level of completions remains 47% below the h1 22 peak. recent changes to the planning system are taking time to feed into an improvement in the time taken to secure detailed planning consent, and as a result at 30 june 2025 sbh was operating from 9 active sales outlets, compared to our budget expectations of 12 outlets. the net private reservation rate per active sales outlet per week in h1 25 was 0.45 (h1 24: 0.50). following a slower start to the year the sales rate increased to 0.51 in q2 25, compared to 0.38 in q1 25. we have seen good interest at recently launched sites with pricing levels remaining stable across our regions. there continues to be some cost inflation, but it is currently running at a manageable rate. whilst many of our customers remain cautious, and mortgage rates have not fallen as quickly as anticipated at the start of the year, our private sales rate has also been impacted by several of our active sites nearing the end of their sales programme and consequently not offering the full product range. the net private weekly reservation rate for the 6 weeks to 14 september was 0.38. due to a slower outlet opening profile and softer market conditions in recent months we now expect total home completions for 2025 to be c.240-250. sbh's total owned and controlled land bank stands at 2,487 plots (december 2024: 1,726), equating to a healthy 9 years' supply based on completions in the last 12 months. three sites were added in the period at whitby, wynyard and kingston village, which together have the potential to deliver 846 homes. a further 406 plots are under offer across four sites, which will grow our presence in both the midlands and the north east. the consented land bank now stands at 945 plots (december 2024: 862) and we expect to be selling from around 15 outlets, across all three of our targeted regions: yorkshire, north east and the midlands in 2026. construction the group's construction segment, which includes hbc, bp and road link (a69), delivered an operating profit of £1.9m (june 2024: £2.9m). the uk construction market remained challenging during h1 25 with the volume of new work contracting by 7.1% since late-2022 according to data from the office for national statistics. the s&p global uk construction purchasing managers index shows that total activity has fallen during 2025, with a reduction in housing, commercial and civil engineering activity. hbc has now secured 94% of its orderbook for 2025 and is on track to secure turnover in line with budget. in h1 25, hbc secured a £16m contract for the national centre for child health technology in sheffield, a new world-class research and technology centre for children and young people. hbc has also been appointed to deliver a £10m restoration of a historic university of huddersfield building. today we have announced that it has been agreed to sell the entire issued share capital of hbc to pws, a company newly formed by the hbc management team, for £4.0m, which is being funded by pws in the form of a vendor loan from the group. the transaction also provides for additional overage payable to the group in the future based on certain performance criteria. the sale is in line with the group's strategic focus on three key areas of high-quality land, prime property development and premium homes. hbc is not part of the group's medium term growth strategy and makes only a small contribution to group profits. the transaction is expected to complete around the year end. the excess of the carrying value of the vendor loan above the net assets being disposed of will be reflected as a profit on disposal. the group will continue to provide temporary support to hbc under a transitional services agreement, with operational oversight from two henry boot representatives on the hbc board until the point when the vendor loan has been repaid. banner plant and road link (a69) are both trading in line with management expectations. road link has entered the final 7 months of the pfi contract. financial review consolidated statement of comprehensive income group revenue for the period increased 19.2% to £126.4m (h1 24: £106.0m) with transactional activity in land promotion and property development increasing on the prior period, despite relatively subdued housing and commercial real estate markets. stonebridge delivered 85 plot completions (h1 24: 90) with most of their activity weighted to h2. gross profit was up 29.6% on the prior period at £32.0m (h1 24: £24.7m) a solid performance. with the increase being delivered by plot disposals in the land promotion segment which increased to 1,222 plots (h1 24: 843) resulting from increased freehold sales in the period at an average gross profit per plot of £16k (h1 24: £10k).   administrative expenses increased £2.7m on the prior period (h1 24: decreased £0.1m) with continued investment in our people, systems, brand and due to a one-off bad debt recovery in the prior year. fair value of investment properties increased £0.9m (h1 24: increase £0.1m) with group assets performing ahead of the cbre index. profits on sale of investment properties were £1.4m (h1 24: £nil), including £1.0m from assets held for sale (h1 24: £nil). the group's share of losses from joint ventures and associates was £1.2m (h1 24: £1.9m profit), including investment property valuation losses of £0.4m (h1 24: £0.1m gain). property revaluation gains/(loss) h1 25 £'m h1 24 £'m 2024 £'m wholly owned investment property:    - completed investment property 1.3 - 1.2 - investment property in the course of construction - - 3.3  1.3 - 4.5 joint ventures and associates:    - completed investment property - 0.1 0.1 - investment property in the course of construction (0.4) - -  - - 0.1  0.9 0.1 4.6   this results in an operating profit of £10.2m (h1 24: £5.9m) which generated a profit before tax1 of £7.8m on a statutory basis or £6.5m on an underlying basis (h1 24: £3.7m statutory or £3.6m underlying). earnings per share follows the above, increasing to 4.8p (h1 24: 2.8p). return on capital employed higher operating profits in the period resulted in an increase in return on capital employed (roce) to 9.1% on a rolling 12 month basis (h1 24: 4.9%). over a 12-month period we continue to believe a target return of 10-15% is appropriate for our current operating model. finance and gearing financing costs were £4.0m (h1 24: £4.3m) reflecting the impact of lower borrowing levels and interest rates. this is partially offset by finance income of £1.7m (h1 24: £2.1m) as an element of financing costs are recovered through our joint venture arrangements. at 30 june 2025, net debt was £88.1m (h1 24: £103.9m). this reflects recycling of assets into cash offset by additional investment in strategic and residential land and work in progress. debt levels are forecast to remain broadly consistent in h2 as profits continue to be reinvested in acquiring key residential sites and progressing planning on strategic land sites to deliver future growth. as a result of the decrease in debt in h1, gearing levels have fallen to 21.4% (h1 24: 25.5%) and while above our preferred operating range of 10%-20% we remain within the board approved limit of 30%. cash flows having refinanced in fy 24, the group has a secured financing facility in place to 2029 of up to £180m. operating cash inflows before movements in working capital were £11.5m (h1 24: £6.6m). working capital requirements have increased due to continued progression of residential and strategic land investments, resulting in outflows of £21.2m (h1 24: £13.4m) which in turn meant that operations generated outflows of £9.7m (h1 24: £6.8m). after interest paid of £3.1m (h1 24: £3.6m) and tax paid of £4.8m (h1 24: £3.9m) net cash outflows from operating activities were £17.6m (h1 24: £14.2m). in january 2025, the group completed the acquisition of the first tranche of stonebridge homes, increasing its ownership to 62.5% for cash consideration of £10.0m (h1 24: £nil) and increased investment in associates of £2.8m (h1 24: nil), these investments are offset by proceeds on disposal of investment property of £5.0m (h1 24: £0.2m) and assets held for sale of £9.3m (h1 24 £nil) resulting in net cash outflows from investing activities of £0.1m (h1 24: £4.1m). the final dividend on ordinary shares for fy 24 increased by 5% to £6.2m (h1 24: £5.9m). statement of financial position total non-current assets were £193.0m (31 december 2024: £161.5m). significant movements arose as follows: -     an increase in non-current trade receivables of £36.4m (31 december 2024: £8.5m) due to the ageing of receivables due from joint venture arrangements; -     the pension scheme asset has decreased £3.0m to £6.9m (31 december 2024: £9.9m); and, -     an increase in investments in joint ventures and associates of £4.4m to £17.7m (31 december 2024: £13.3m), being additional investments of £5.6m offset by losses generated of £1.2m (h1 24: £1.8m profit). current assets were £34.2m lower at £427.9m (31 december 2024: £462.1m) resulting from: -     lower trade and other receivables of £57.2m (31 december 2024: £90.5m), due to the ageing of receivables due from joint ventures arrangements; -     a £10.4m uplift in inventories to £343.3m (31 december 2024: £332.9m) due to investment in our strategic and home builder land banks; -     cash and cash equivalents which were £6.9m lower at £9.9m (31 december 2024: £16.8m) due to current cash requirements and timing on loan repayments; and, -     assets held for sale which decreased £5.4m following the disposal of a mutli-let industrial led business park in the property investment and development segment. total liabilities rose to £208.8m (31 december 2024: £198.5m) with the most significant changes arising from: -     trade and other payables, including contract liabilities, decreased £5.5m to £101.2m (31 december 2024: £106.7m) due to payables of sizeable land purchases made on deferred terms; and, -     borrowings, including lease liabilities, increased to £94.6m (31 december 2024: £75.5m) as the group continues to invest in strategic and home building land assets through the year with many transactions completing in h2. profit for the year less dividends paid were broadly neutral in h1. the acquisition of a further 12.5% interest in stonebridge homes recognised directly through equity along with an actuarial loss on the defined benefit pension scheme saw net assets decrease to £412.1m (31 december 2024: £425.1m) with the net asset value per share decreasing by 3.1% to 307p (31 december 2024: 317p), an underlying decrease of 2.6% to 304p (december 2024: 312p) when excluding the defined benefit pension scheme surplus net of tax liability. notes:   1        underlying profit before tax is an alternative performance measure (apm) and is defined as profit before tax excluding revaluation movements on completed investment properties. revaluation movement on completed investment properties includes gains of £1.3m (2024: £nil) on wholly owned completed investment property and gains of £nil (2024: £0.1m) on completed investment property held in joint ventures. this apm provides the users with a measure that excludes specific external factors beyond management's controls and reflects the group's underlying results. this measure is used in the business in appraising senior management performance.   2        return on capital employed (roce) is an apm and is defined as operating profit/ average of total assets less current liabilities (excluding db pension surplus) at the opening and closing balance sheet dates.   3        net asset value (nav) per share is an apm and is defined using the statutory measures net assets/ordinary share capital.   4        net (debt)/cash is an apm and is reconciled to statutory measures in note 14.   consolidated statement of comprehensive income (unaudited) for the half year ended 30 june 2025   half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024   2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 revenue 126,424 106,047 328,379 cost of sales (94,454) (81,373) (253,836) gross profit 31,970 24,674 74,543 administrative expenses (23,350) (20,689) (47,317)  8,620 3,985 27,226 increase/(decrease) in fair value of investment properties 1,320 (28) 4,464 profit on sale of investment properties 465 37 102 profit on sale of assets held for sale 958 - - share of (loss)/profit of joint ventures and associates (1,197) 1,860 2,431 operating profit 10,166 5,854 34,223 finance income 1,661 2,116 5,115 finance costs (4,029) (4,283) (8,678) profit before tax 7,798 3,687 30,660 tax (1,871) (478) (7,030) profit for the period from continuing operations 5,927 3,209 23,630   revaluation of group occupied property - (14) 64 deferred tax on property revaluations - (48) (67) actuarial (loss)/gain on defined benefit pension scheme (3,052) 2,024 2,196 deferred tax on actuarial (loss)/gain 763 (506) (549) total other comprehensive (expense)/income not being reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent periods (2,289) 1,456 1,644 total comprehensive income for the period 3,638 4,665 25,274 profit for the period attributable to:    owners of the parent company 6,391 3,689 23,333 non-controlling interests (464) (480) 297  5,927 3,209 23,630 total comprehensive income attributable to:    owners of the parent company 4,102 5,145 24,977 non-controlling interests (464) (480) 297  3,638 4,665 25,274 basic earnings per ordinary share for the profit attributable to owners of the parent company during the period 4.8p 2.8p 17.4p diluted earnings per ordinary share for the profit attributable to owners of the parent company during the period 4.6p 2.7p 17.0p  consolidated statement of financial position (unaudited) as at 30 june 2025  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 assets    non-current assets    intangible assets 371 1,809 617 property, plant and equipment 28,303 28,533 29,293 right of use assets 3,023 3,837 3,460 investment properties 91,591 100,468 96,275 investment in joint ventures and associates 17,720 10,844 13,280 retirement benefit asset 6,923 9,800 9,930 trade and other receivables 44,852 41,511 8,458 deferred tax assets 219 214 219  193,002 197,016 161,532 current assets    inventories 343,298 350,402 332,871 contract assets 13,494 13,851 12,693 trade and other receivables 57,211 64,734 90,467 cash and cash equivalents 9,946 14,379 16,764 assets classified as held for sale 3,905 - 9,315  427,854 443,366 462,110 liabilities    current liabilities    trade and other payables 85,966 82,578 89,820 contract liabilities 3,471 4,915 4,882 current tax liabilities 105 3,304 2,909 borrowings 94,052 111,929 74,443 lease liabilities 863 898 895 provisions 2,756 3,177 1,723  187,213 206,801 174,672 net current assets 240,641 236,565 287,438 non-current liabilities    trade and other payables 11,740 13,647 11,991 borrowings 526 2,083 1,092 lease liabilities 2,592 3,389 3,017 deferred tax liability 6,720 5,896 7,568 provisions - 422 154  21,578 25,437 23,822 net assets 412,065 408,144 425,148 equity    share capital 13,803 13,799 13,801 property revaluation reserve 1,008 949 1,008 retained earnings 388,864 383,181 399,791 other reserves 8,318 8,252 8,293 cost of shares held by esop trust (645) (645) (645) equity attributable to owners of the parent company 411,348 405,536 422,248 non-controlling interests 717 2,608 2,900 total equity 412,065 408,144 425,148   consolidated statement of changes in equity (unaudited) for the half year ended 30 june 2025   attributable to owners of the parent company        cost of      property   shares held  non-   share revaluation retained other by esop  controlling total  capital reserve earnings reserves trust total interests equity   £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 at 1 january 2024 13,799 1,011 383,219 8,248 (875) 405,402 4,716 410,118 profit for the period - - 3,689 - - 3,689 (480) 3,209 other comprehensive expense - (62) 1,518 - - 1,456 - 1,456 total comprehensive income - (62) 5,207 - - 5,145 (480) 4,665 equity dividends - - (5,890) - - (5,890) (1,628) (7,518) proceeds from shares issued - - - 4 - 4 - 4 share-based payments - - 645 - 230 875 - 875  - - (5,245) 4 230 (5,011) (1,628) (6,639) at 30 june 2024 (unaudited) 13,799 949 383,181 8,252 (645) 405,536 2,608 408,144           at 1 january 2024 13,799 1,011 383,219 8,248 (875) 405,402 4,716 410,118 profit for the year - - 23,333 - - 23,333 297 23,630 other comprehensive expense - (3) 1,647 - - 1,644 - 1,644 total comprehensive income - (3) 24,980 - - 24,977 297 25,274 transfer between reserves - - - - - - - - equity dividends - - (10,019) - - (10,019) (2,113) (12,132) purchase of treasury shares - - - - - - - - proceeds from shares issued 2 - - 45 - 47 - 47 share-based payments - - 1,611 - 230 1,841 - 1,841  2 - (8,408) 45 230 (8,131) (2,113) (10,244) at 31 december 2024 (audited) 13,801 1,008 399,791 8,293 (645) 422,248 2,900 425,148 profit for the period - - 6,391 - - 6,391 (464) 5,927 other comprehensive income - - (2,289) - - (2,289) - (2,289) total comprehensive income - - 4,102 - - 4,102 (464) 3,638 equity dividends - - (6,190) - - (6,190) (1,455) (7,645) investment in subsidiary - - (9,778) - - (9,778) (264) (10,042) proceeds from shares issued 2 - - 25 - 27 - 27 share-based payments - - 939 - - 939 - 939  2 - (15,029) 25 - (15,002) (1,719) (16,721) at 30 june 2025 (unaudited) 13,803 1,008 388,864 8,318 (645) 411,348 717 412,065   consolidated statement of cash flows (unaudited) for the half year ended 30 june 2025   half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 cash flows from operating activities    cash generated from operations (9,716) (6,761) 42,573 interest paid (3,123) (3,575) (7,772) tax paid (4,761) (3,857) (9,235) net cash flows from operating activities (17,600) (14,193) 25,566 cash flows from investing activities    acquisition of subsidiary (10,000) - - purchase of investment in associates (2,838) - - purchase of intangible assets (5) - - purchase of property, plant and equipment (125) (375) (1,391) purchase of investment property (1,170) (43) (96) proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment (excluding assets held for hire) 123 66 272 proceeds on disposal of assets held for sale 9,288 - - proceeds on disposal of investment properties 4,982 176 625 repayment of loans from joint ventures and associates 803 1,004 13,456 advances to joint ventures and associates (2,123) (8,266) (17,410) distributions received from joint ventures and associates - 1,500 2,850 interest received 918 1,851 3,695 net cash flows from investing activities (147) (4,087) 2,001 cash flows from financing activities    proceeds from shares issued 27 4 47 advances/(payments to) from joint ventures and associates 11 (71) (75) decrease in borrowings (40,957) (7,722) (56,117) increase in borrowings 60,000 35,216 45,134 principal element of lease payments (457) (284) (694) dividends paid - ordinary shares (6,180) (5,879) (9,998)  - non-controlling interests (1,505) (1,628) (2,113)  - preference shares (10) (11) (21) net cash flows from financing activities 10,929 19,625 (23,837) net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (6,818) 1,345 3,730 net cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 16,764 13,034 13,034 net cash and cash equivalents at end of period 9,946 14,379 16,764     notes to the condensed financial statements for the half year ended 30 june 2025   1. general information the company is a public limited company, listed on the london stock exchange and incorporated and domiciled in the united kingdom. the address of its registered office: is isaacs building, 4 charles street, sheffield, united kingdom, s1 2hs.   the financial information set out above does not comprise statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the companies act 2006 and is neither audited nor reviewed. the financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2024, which were prepared in accordance with uk-adopted international accounting standards, have been reported on by the group's auditors and delivered to the registrar of companies. the independent auditors' report was unqualified and did not contain any statement under section 498 of the companies act 2006.   2. basis of preparation and accounting policies the half-yearly financial information has been prepared in accordance with the disclosure and transparency rules of the financial conduct authority and with uk adopted international accounting standard ias 34 'interim financial reporting'.   the half-yearly financial information has been prepared using the same accounting policies and methods of computation as compared with the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2024.   a number of other standards, amendments and interpretations became effective from 1 january 2025, which do not have a material impact on the group's financial statements or accounting policies.   going concern   the group meets its day-to-day working capital requirements through a secured loan facility. the facility was renewed on 21 may 2024, at a level of £125m, for a period of three years and extended by one year in may 2025 with the ability to extend by one more year in may 2026 taking the facility renewal to 21 may 2029 on comparable terms to the existing agreement. the facility includes an accordion to increase the facility by up to £60m, increasing the overall facility to £185m. the group increased the facility on 21 march 2025 to £140m, which increased headroom over the going concern period.   the directors have considered the group's principal risk areas, including the risk of economic slowdown, that they consider material to the assessment of going concern.    the directors have prepared forecasts to 31 december 2026 covering a base case and severe downside scenario.    having conducted significant stress testing at the year-end they have further considered the outcome of our half year position and their latest forecasts, while taking into account the current trading conditions, the markets in which the group's businesses operate and associated credit risks together with the available committed banking facilities and the potential mitigations that can be taken, to protect operating profits and cash flows.    the severe downside scenario considered includes short-term curtailment in transactional activity and percentage reductions in other activities mirroring recent downturn experiences. this is followed by a short to medium-term recovery, coupled with the ability to manage future expenditure as described in the 2024 annual report.    as reported in the 2024 annual report, the most sensitive covenant in our facilities relates to the ratio of ebit (earnings before interest and tax) on a 12-month rolling basis to senior facility finance costs. our downside modelling, which reflects a 26% reduction in revenue and 63% reduction in profit before tax from our base case for 2025, demonstrates significant headroom over this covenant throughout the forecast period to the end of december 2026.    their review supports the view that the group will have adequate resources, liquidity and available bank facilities to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the half-yearly financial information.   estimates and judgements the preparation of half-yearly financial information requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expense. actual results may differ from these estimates.   in preparing these half-yearly financial statements, the significant judgements made by management in applying the group's accounting policies and the key sources of estimation uncertainty were the same as those that applied to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2024.   3. segment information for the purpose of the board making strategic decisions, the group is currently organised into four operating segments: property investment and development; home building; land promotion; and construction. group overheads are not a reportable segment; however, information about them is considered by the board in conjunction with the reportable segments.   during the year, the group added a new operating segment - home building - following the acquisition of a further 12.5% interest in stonebridge homes which now stands at 62.5%. the segment was identified based on the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision maker, being the board of henry boot. the home building segment is managed separately due to its distinct nature and customer profile. comparative results have been restated.   operations are carried out entirely within the united kingdom.   inter-segment sales are charged at prevailing market prices.   the accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the group's accounting policies, as detailed above.   segment profit represents the profit earned by each segment before tax and is consistent with the measure reported to the group's board for the purpose of resource allocation and assessment of segment performance.         half year ended 30 june 2025 unaudited  property             investment             and home land   group     development building promotion construction overheads eliminations total  £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 revenue               external sales 30,969 29,968 31,936 33,551 - - 126,424 inter-segment sales 194 - - 7,474 48 (7,716) - total revenue 31,163 29,968 31,936 41,025 48 (7,716) 126,424 gross profit/(loss) 5,015 1,452 18,980 6,517 10 (4) 31,970               administrative expenses (5,809) (3,498) (5,214) (4,635) (4,198) 4 (23,350) other operating income 1,546 - - - - - 1,546 operating profit/(loss) 752 (2,046) 13,766 1,882 (4,188) - 10,166 finance income 651 - 499 364 293 (146) 1,661 finance costs (34) (2) (491) (203) (3,472) 173 (4,029) profit/(loss) before tax 1,369 (2,048) 13,774 2,043 (7,367) 27 7,798 tax (461) 671 (3,444) (469) 1,832 - (1,871) profit/(loss) for the period 908 (1,377) 10,330 1,574 (5,535) 27 5,927       half year ended 30 june 2024 unaudited   property        investment        and home land  group    development building promotion construction overheads eliminations total  £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 revenue        external sales 20,709 29,169 13,022 43,147 - - 106,047 inter-segment sales 204 - - 355 84 (643) - total revenue 20,913 29,169 13,022 43,502 84 (643) 106,047 gross profit 5,876 2,617 8,944 7,223 14 - 24,674 administrative expenses (4,545) (3,165) (4,745) (4,326) (3,908) - (20,689) other operating income/(expense) 1,870 - (1) - - - 1,869 operating profit/(loss) 3,201 (548) 4,198 2,897 (3,894) - 5,854 finance income 1,547 - 274 249 173 (127) 2,116 finance costs (25) - (716) (243) (3,453) 154 (4,283) profit/(loss) before tax 4,723 (548) 3,756 2,903 (7,174) 27 3,687 tax 206 (822) (939) (716) 1,793 - (478) profit/(loss) for the year 4,929 (1,370) 2,817 2,187 (5,381) 27 3,209      year ended 31 december 2024 audited   property        investment        and home land  group    development building promotion construction overheads eliminations total  £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 revenue        external sales 69,194 100,745 78,036 80,404 - - 328,379 inter-segment sales 387 - - 777 150 (1,314) - total revenue 69,581 100,745 78,036 81,181 150 (1,314) 328,379 gross profit/(loss) 17,848 9,130 33,747 13,823 4 (9) 74,543 administrative expenses (9,929) (7,270) (9,456) (8,935) (11,736) 9 (47,317) other operating income 6,997 - - - - - 6,997 operating profit/(loss) 14,916 1,860 24,291 4,888 (11,732) - 34,223 finance income 5,486 45 1,784 486 36,183 (38,869) 5,115 finance costs (85) - (1,517) (506) (6,891) 321 (8,678) profit/(loss) before tax 20,317 1,905 24,558 4,868 17,560 (38,548) 30,660 tax (3,681) 1,023 (6,482) (1,479) 3,589 - (7,030) profit/(loss) for the year 16,636 2,928 18,076 3,389 21,149 (38,548) 23,630     30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 segment assets    property investment and development 237,301 262,665 246,892 home building 126,280 109,686 120,770 land promotion 195,974 192,532 183,539 construction 37,334 43,209 37,896 group overheads 6,879 7,897 7,632  603,768 615,989 596,729 unallocated assets    retirement benefit assets 6,923 9,800 9,930 deferred tax assets 219 214 219 cash and cash equivalents 9,946 14,379 16,764 total assets 620,856 640,382 623,642 segment liabilities    property investment and development 27,413 24,338 24,870 home building 21,422 17,458 21,948 land promotion 27,095 34,260 38,767 construction 23,657 25,222 18,082 group overheads 4,346 3,461 4,903  103,933 104,739 108,570 unallocated liabilities    current tax liabilities 105 3,304 2,909 deferred tax liabilities 6,720 5,896 7,568 current lease liabilities 863 898 895 current borrowings 94,052 111,929 74,443 non-current lease liabilities 2,592 3,389 3,017 non-current borrowings 526 2,083 1,092 total liabilities 208,791 232,238 198,494 total net assets 412,065 408,144 425,148   4. revenue the group's revenue is derived from contracts with customers. in the following table, revenue is disaggregated by primary activity, being the group's operating segments and timing of revenue recognition:    timing of revenue recognition   timing of revenue recognition activity in the united kingdom 30 june 2025 unaudited £'000 at a point in time over time 30 june 2024 unaudited £'000 at a point in time over time construction contracts:       - construction 19,142 - 19,142 28,632 - 28,632 - property investment and development 21,169 - 21,169 11,398 - 11,398 sale of land and properties:       - property investment and development 6,723 6,723 - 6,186 6,186 - - home builder unit sales 29,968 29,968 - 29,156 29,156 - - land promotion 31,850 31,850 - 12,926 12,926 - pfi concession 6,927 6,927 - 6,797 6,797 - revenue from contracts with customers 115,779 75,468 40,311 95,095 55,065 40,030 plant and equipment hire 7,482   7,718   investment property rental income 3,077   3,126   other rental income - property development -   12   other rental income - land promotion 86   96    126,424     106,047     5. earnings per ordinary share earnings per ordinary share is calculated on the weighted average number of shares in issue being 134,017,794 (30 june 2024: 133,986,686). diluted earnings per ordinary share is calculated on the weighted average number of shares in issue adjusted for the effects of any dilutive potential ordinary shares.   6. dividends  half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in period:    preference dividend on cumulative preference shares 10 11 21 interim dividend for the year ended 31 december 2024 of 3.08p per share (2023: 2.93p) - - 4,119 final dividend for the year ended 31 december 2024 of 4.62p per share (2023: 4.40p) 6,180 5,879 5,879  6,190 5,890 10,019   an interim dividend amounting to £4,325,000 (2024: £4,119,000) will be paid on 24 october 2025 to shareholders whose names are on the register at the close of business on 3 october 2025. the proposed interim dividend has not been approved at the date of the consolidated statement of financial position and so has not been included as a liability in these financial statements.   7. tax  half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 current tax:    uk corporation tax on profits for the period 2,239 455 6,207 adjustment in respect of earlier periods (281) 54 (751) total current tax 1,958 509 5,456 deferred tax:    origination and reversal of temporary differences (87) (31) 1,574 total deferred tax (87) (31) 1,574 total tax 1,871 478 7,030   corporation tax is calculated at 25% (31 december 2024: 25%) of the estimated assessable profit for the period being management's estimate of the weighted average corporation tax rate for the period. the group's effective rate of tax of 24.0% is lower than the standard rate of corporation tax due to income from joint ventures and associates which is reported net of tax.   8. investment properties   investment   completed property   investment under   property construction total  £'000 £'000 £'000 fair value    at 1 january 2025 (audited) 96,275 - 96,275 subsequent expenditure on investment property 751 419 1,170 amortisation of capitalised letting fees (9) - (9) disposals (4,517) - (4,517) transfer to assets held for sale (2,920) - (2,920) transfer from inventory - 272 272 increase in fair value in period 1,320 - 1,320 at 30 june 2025 (unaudited) 90,900 691 91,591 adjustment in respect of tenant incentives 2,104 - 2,104 market value at 30 june 2025 93,004 691 93,695     fair value    at 1 january 2024 (audited) 100,602 - 100,602 subsequent expenditure on investment property 43 - 43 amortisation of capitalised letting fees (10) - (10) disposals (139) - (139) transfer to assets held for sale - - - decrease in fair value in period (28) - (28) at 30 june 2024 (unaudited) 100,468 - 100,468 adjustment in respect of tenant incentives 3,017 - 3,017 market value at 30 june 2024 103,485 - 103,485     fair value    at 1 january 2024 100,602 - 100,602 subsequent expenditure on investment property 73 3 76 capitalised letting fees 20 - 20 amortisation of capitalised letting fees (34) - (34) disposals (523) - (523) transfer to assets held for sale - (8,330) (8,330) transfers from investment property under construction (5,030) 5,030 - increase in fair value in period 1,167 3,297 4,464 at 31 december 2024 (audited) 96,275 - 96,275 adjustment in respect of tenant incentives 2,867 - 2,867 market value at 31 december 2024 99,142 - 99,142   at 30 june 2025, the group had entered into contractual commitments for the acquisition and repair of investment property amounting to £2,300,000 (31 december 2024: £nil).   9. borrowings  half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 bank loans 92,500 110,000 72,500 sale and leaseback 2,078 4,012 3,035  94,578 114,012 75,535   movements in borrowings are analysed as follows:  £'000 at 1 january 2025 75,535 secured bank loans 60,000 repayment of secured bank loans (40,000) new leases of sale and leaseback - repayment of sale and leaseback (957) at 30 june 2025 94,578   bank loans include the group's revolving loan facility which runs to may 2028 and is drawn for durations of up to six months.   10. provisions for liabilities and charges since 31 december 2024, the following movements on provisions for liabilities and charges have occurred:   ·      the road maintenance provision represents management's best estimate of the group's liability under a five-year rolling programme for the maintenance of the group's pfi asset. during the period £1,093,000 has been utilised and additional provisions of £1,477,000 have been made, all of which were due to normal operating procedures. ·      the land promotion provision represents management's best estimate of the group's liability to provide infrastructure and service obligations, which remain with the group following the disposal of land. during the period, £767,000 has been utilised and additional provisions of £1,262,000 have been made.     11. defined benefit pension scheme the main financial assumptions used in the valuation of the liabilities of the scheme under ias 19 are:   30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  % % % retail prices index (rpi) 2.80 3.20 3.05 consumer prices index (cpi) 2.45 2.65 2.65 rate in increase to pensions in payment liable for limited price indexation (lpi) 2.45 2.65 2.65 revaluation of deferred pensions 2.45 2.65 2.65 liabilities discount rate 5.65 5.20 5.55   amounts recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income in respect of the scheme are as follows:   half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 service cost:    ongoing scheme expenses 358 353 698 net interest income (273) (174) (347) pension protection fund 7 22 36 pension expenses recognised in profit or loss 92 201 387 remeasurement on the net defined benefit liability:    return on plan assets (excluding amounts included in net interest expense) 4,519 6,794 12,978 actuarial gains arising from changes in demographic assumptions - - (255) actuarial gains arising from experience adjustments (3,614) (9,226) (15,088) actuarial losses arising from changes in financial assumptions 2,147 408 169 actuarial losses/(gains) recognised in other comprehensive income 3,052 (2,024) (2,196) total 3,144 (1,823) (1,809)   the amount included in the statement of financial position arising from the group's obligations in respect of the scheme is as follows:   half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 present value of scheme obligations (136,175) (145,396) (138,220) fair value of scheme assets 143,098 155,196 148,150  6,923 9,800 9,930   12. related party transactions there have been no material transactions with related parties during the period.   there have been no material changes to the related party arrangements as reported in note 29 to the annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2024.   transactions between the company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in this note.   13. share capital  half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 400,000 5.25% cumulative preference shares of £1 each (31 december 2024: 400,000) 400 400 400 134,026,296 ordinary shares of 10p each (31 december 2024: 134,010,541) 13,403 13,399 13,401  13,803 13,799 13,801   14. cash generated from operations  half year half year year  ended ended ended  30 june 30 june 31 december  2025 2024 2024  unaudited unaudited audited  £'000 £'000 £'000 profit before tax 7,798 3,687 30,660 adjustments for:    amortisation of pfi asset 251 268 522 goodwill impairment - 102 1,040 depreciation of property, plant and equipment 1,993 2,325 4,063 depreciation of right-of-use assets 437 435 857 revaluation (increase)/decrease in investment properties (1,320) 28 (4,464) amortisation of capitalised letting fees 9 10 34 share-based payment expense 939 875 1,841 pension scheme debit/(credit) 228 (51) 338 (profit)/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment (excluding equipment held for hire) (105) 36 (151) profit on disposal of equipment held for hire (327) (789) (1,156) profit on disposal of investment properties (465) (37) (102) profit on disposal of assets held for sale (958) - - finance income (1,661) (2,116) (5,115) finance costs 4,029 4,283 8,678 share of loss/(profit) of joint ventures and associates 1,197 (1,860) (2,431) operating cash flows before movements in equipment held for hire 12,045 7,196 34,614 purchase of equipment held for hire (1,078) (1,666) (4,183) proceeds on disposal of equipment held for hire 509 1,073 1,550 operating cash flows before movements in working capital 11,476 6,603 31,981 increase in inventories (10,699) (52,784) (35,253) (increase)/decrease in receivables (4,147) 16,961 18,791 (increase)/decrease in contract assets (801) (192) 966 (decrease)/increase in payables (4,134) 18,796 22,266 (decrease)/increase in contract liabilities (1,411) 3,855 3,822 cash generated from operations (9,716) (6,761) 42,573   net debt is an alternative performance measure used by the group and comprises the following:   analysis of net debt:    cash and cash equivalents 9,946 14,379 16,764 bank overdrafts - - - net cash and cash equivalents 9,946 14,379 16,764 bank loans (92,500) (110,000) (72,500) other loans - sale and leaseback (2,078) (4,012) (3,035) lease liabilities (3,455) (4,287) (3,912) net debt (88,087) (103,920) (62,683)   15. group risks and uncertainties   the directors consider that the principal risks and uncertainties which could have a material impact on henry boot's performance over the remaining six months of 2025 remain consistent with those set out in the strategic report on pages 71 to 78 of the group's annual report and financial statements. these risks and uncertainties are:    external markets; sustainability targets; underperformance of subsidiaries; reputational incident; loss of critical systems; business continuity incident, attract; retain and develop workforce; loss of key personnel; health, safety and environment; execution; failure to adhere to regulations; adverse changes in regulations; funding; erosion of profits; fraud.   the directors remain cautiously optimistic about our markets as the uk continues on a path of recovery. interest rates trending downwards and changes in the national planning policy framework are supportive, yet the geopolitical environment continues to be volatile and improvement is marginal.   henry boot operates a system of internal control and risk management in order to provide assurance that it is managing risk while achieving our business objectives. no system can fully eliminate risk and therefore the understanding of operational risk is central to the management process within henry boot. the long-term success of the group depends on the continual review, assessment and control of the key business risks it faces.   16. approval the issue of these statements was formally approved by a duly appointed committee of the board on 22 september 2025.   responsibility statements of the directors   the directors confirm that these condensed interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with international accounting standard 34, 'interim financial reporting', as adopted by the european union and that the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by dtr 4.2.7 and dtr 4.2.8, namely:   ·                an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements, and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the financial year; and   ·                material related-party transactions in the first six months and any material changes in the related-party transactions described in the last annual report.   the directors of henry boot plc are listed in the henry boot plc annual report for the year ended 31 december 2024. a list of current directors is maintained on the henry boot plc group website: www.henryboot.co.uk.   on behalf of the board   t a roberts director 23 september 2025 d l littlewood director 23 september 2025   this information is provided by rns, the news service of the london stock exchange. rns is approved by the financial conduct authority to act as a primary information provider in the united kingdom. terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. for further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.  rns may use your ip address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. for further information about how rns and the london stock exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our privacy policy.   end   ir uuuarvkukuur return to news summary

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