As the parent company of the Sheffield-based Henry Boot Group of Companies, Henry Boot PLC is one of the leading property and construction organisations in the country. Its successful group operations encompass property (Henry Boot Developments Limited), land (Hallam Land Management Limited), construction (Henry Boot Construction Limited) and plant (Banner Plant Limited).

The origins of the company go back over 125 years when local farmer's son, Henry Boot, started his one-man construction business in 1886 to carry out modest jobbing work in the Sheffield and surrounding area. He rapidly expanded into large-scale public works and housing projects throughout the country and, with his son Charles, built the foundations of our company's proud and colourful history


http://www.henryboot.co.uk/

In on Friday at 141.50 .

The company has a lot of value locked away in its landbank. Management buy land, push it through the planning process and sell it, usually to housebuilders who are keen to buy land ready to build on. This land with the building permission may cost the builders more but all the work has been done . The core business is Hallam Land Management. Hallam's land bank stands at 9,069 acres. No value has been put on this , but a few months earlier the land bank was 8,761 acres and in the books at £68.1 million. In the current land bank over 20% has planning consent.
Hallam now looks well placed to turn these assets into cash at a considerable premium to the book value. True, land sales have been pretty subdued this year, but management has built a significant pipeline of sites with planning consent that are about to be marketed. Furthermore, some of these are already subject to agreed terms, which means that Hallam has some buyers lined up.
Henry boot also runs a plant-hire business.
Finances are in decent shape . Last years cash pile was turned by the half year stage into a net debt of 22m, but this resulted from extra purchases of land. Turning the land into about 2,000 plots a year with planning permission. Its building a pipeline for plenty of future profitable revenues.

Starting to march in 2013

On the march

Up about 35p in 2013

Very strong buying

Sold half my holding

Near to a 5yr high now.

290p has been the ten year high

Pre-close Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 2079W
Boot(Henry) PLC
24 January 2013



HENRY BOOT PLC

('Henry Boot' or 'the Group')

Pre-close Trading Update





The Board of Henry Boot issues the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2012.



There has been no material change in the Group's financial position since the issue of the Interim Management Statement on 12 November 2012. We anticipate that Group profit before tax will be in line with the Board's expectations.



Trading



Revenues for the year ended 31 December 2012 are expected to be around £100 million.



The valuation of the Group's property portfolio is anticipated to be broadly in line with that of June 2012, which reflects the initial valuation uplift on completion of the Warminster foodstore development. We are now part way through our Manchester development which we anticipate will conclude in the second half of 2013 and we expect to start works on our development with Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust in February 2013 with completion expected in 2014.



The Group's balance sheet remains robust, with gearing at the year-end at around 11% (2011: 1%) as we make further investment in the land and development portfolio.



Hallam Land Management has made a good start to 2013 with the completion of the sale of a site for 100 units at Burdiehouse, Edinburgh and the receipt of planning permission, on appeal, at Cam, Gloucestershire, for 71 units. Furthermore we are well advanced through the legal process on the sale of our site at Banbury, which we anticipate concluding in the near future.


We look forward to updating shareholders in more detail at the time of our full year results which are scheduled to be announced on Wednesday 27 March 2013.

Full year results in the morning, Wednesday 27 March.

Final Results
RNS
RNS Number : 9379A
Boot(Henry) PLC
27 March 2013



HENRY BOOT PLC





UNAUDITED PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012




Henry Boot PLC ('Henry Boot', 'the Company' or 'the Group') (LSE: BHY), a company engaged in land promotion, property investment and development, construction and plant hire, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2012.



2012 KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS


·
Profit before tax: £13.9m (2011: £16.1m)

·
Property revaluation surplus: £1.4m (2011: deficit £4.3m)

·
Investment property disposal profits: £1.0m (2011: £Nil)

·
Trading profits*: £12.3m (2011: £20.8m)

·
Profit after tax: £11.5m (2011: £10.8m)

·
Earnings per share increased 6% to 7.3p (2011: 6.9p)

·
Proposed final dividend of 2.90p (2011: 2.60p), giving a total for the year of 4.70p (2011: 4.25p), an 11% increase

·
Net asset value per share: 139p (2011: 142p)

·
Investment in strategic land inventories of £19.4m saw a planned net debt rise to £21.9m (2011: £2.3m) and gearing to 12% (2011: 1%)



*Trading profits comprise operating profit of £14.7m (2011: £16.9m), adjusted for the increase in fair value of investment property of £1.4m (2011: decrease £4.3m), profit on sale of investment properties of £1.0m (2011: £Nil) and loss on sale of assets held for sale of £Nil (2011: profit £0.4m).




Commenting on the results, Chairman John Brown said:



"I am pleased to report another year of strong progress throughout the Group in challenging construction and property markets.



"We have invested heavily in the land portfolio which now stands at over 9,000 acres. Furthermore, we achieved a significant number of planning permissions which will feed into sales during 2013 and beyond.



"Strategically we must now capitalise on these valuable assets, whilst at the same time growing the opportunity pipeline to ensure we continue the momentum in years to come.



"We have made a strong start to 2013 across all our businesses. Plant and construction activity is ahead of 2012 and Road Link (A69) Limited is performing to plan. We have a number of profitable developments in progress, have already concluded two land sales and have a significant level of interaction with the planning process which, if successful, will result in a growing number of profitable disposal opportunities to a growing house building industry... we have geared up our balance sheet to take advantage of the nascent recovery, investing in the business opportunities that will generate growing shareholder returns into the future."

Henry Boot: WH Ireland initiates with a target price of 185p and a buy recommendation. Numis shifts target price from 170p to 180p keeping a buy recommendation.

Seem to be on the march today.

A buy in this weeks IC

Good gain on a vey poor day.

As of Apr 20, 2013, the consensus forecast amongst 5 polled investment analysts covering Henry Boot plc advises investors to purchase equity in the company. This has been the consensus forecast since the sentiment of investment analysts improved on Feb 09, 2010. The previous consensus forecast advised that Henry Boot plc would outperform the market.

Henry Boot PLC (BHY:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 180.00. Over this period, the share price is up 27.66

Sold my holding, in since 135p

Not in this one, for anyone interested - Henry Boot: WH Ireland increases target price from 185p to 205p and stays with its buy recommendation.

Half Yearly Report

RNS


RNS Number : 3234M

Boot(Henry) PLC

23 August 2013


HENRY BOOT PLC

UNAUDITED HALF-YEARLY RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2013


Henry Boot PLC ('Henry Boot', 'the Company' or 'the Group') (LSE: BHY), a company engaged in property investment and development, land development, construction and plant hire, announces its half-yearly results for the period ended 30 June 2013.



HIGHLIGHTS

·
Operating profit: increased 33% to £7.8m (2012: £5.9m)


·

Property revaluation deficit: £0.5m (2012: surplus £1.8m)


·

Investment property disposal profits: £0.2m (2012: £0.3m)


·

Profit before tax: £7.4m (2012: £5.5m)


·

Earnings per share: increased 64% to 3.6p (2012: 2.2p)


·

Increased interim dividend: 1.95p (2012: 1.80p)


·

Net asset value per share: 144p (31 December 2012: 139p)


·

Net debt: £38.8m (31 December 2012: £21.9m)




Commenting on the results, the Chairman, John Brown, said:



"I am pleased to report another strong set of results for Henry Boot for the half year ended 30 June 2013.



We currently have an unprecedented number of strategic land sites working through the evolving planning process, and during the first half of the year added over 550 acres to our portfolio which now totals 9,565 acres, concluded the acquisition of the 270,000 sq ft former Terry's Chocolate Factory in York and are currently on site with two development projects and are expecting to begin working on several others in the near future.



We continue to trade in line with the Board's expectations for the year ended 31 December 2013 and our balance sheet strength and ability to commit funding to land and property development is resulting in a significant number of competitively priced opportunities arising. These sites will serve to increase our profit generation capability in future years."

Half-yearly report 2013

http://interimreports.henryboot.co.uk/2013/public_html/home/

Broker snap: WH Ireland hands Henry Boot a 'buy' rating

Mon, 23 September 2013


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Price: 188.00

Chg: 1.00

Chg %: 0.53%

Date: 17:06


Property company Henry Boot was given a ‘buy’ rating from WH Ireland Research after reporting a hike in first half earnings.

Operating profit rose to £7.8m from the prior year’s £5.9m and pre-tax profit jumped to £7.4m from £5.5m as earnings per share increased to 3.6p from 2.2p.

“Following a good set of first half results recently, we still view Henry Boot as attractively valued, and reiterate our 'buy' recommendation with a raised 245p price target (+28%),” WH Ireland said in a note Monday.

“Results were well ahead year-on-year in terms of the headline numbers and showed good progress across the divisions.”

White trading is “lumpy”, the momentum is “good and improving”, the broker added.

The analyst said it believes the value in the portfolio is being effectively exploited and sees the uptick in the sector and the economy as being likely to provide many more opportunities to exploit these assets.

“Gearing remains modest and we note the 4% increase in net asset value highlighted by Henry Boot last month.”

Shares rose 0.91% to 188.70p at 10:06 on Monday.

5 Nov Numis 217.00 Buy

Final Results


2013 KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS



Profit before tax increased 37% to £18.4m (2012 restated: £13.4m)

Property revaluation deficit of £1.6m (2012: surplus £1.4m)

Investment property disposal profits of £0.3m (2012: £1.0m)

Trading profits* increased 72% to £20.3m (2012: £11.8m)


Earnings per share increased 23% to 8.6p (2012: 7.0p)


Proposed final dividend of 3.15p (2012: 2.90p), giving a total for the year of 5.10p (2012: 4.70p), an 8.5% increase


Total shareholder return of 52% in 2013 and 140% over the last three years


Net asset value per share of 148p (2012: 139p)


·

Investment in strategic land inventories of £9.1m saw a planned net debt rise to £36.1m (2012: £21.9m) and gearing to 19% (2012: 12%)


·

Strategic land acreage now 9,723 acres (2012: 9,011 acres


http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4780238

Interim Management Statement

RNS


RNS Number : 8798G

Boot(Henry) PLC

13 May 2014






Henry Boot PLC

('the Company' or 'the Group')





Interim Management Statement





Henry Boot PLC (LSE: BHY) is releasing the following Interim Management Statement in respect of the period 1 January 2014 to 12 May 2014.





Trading and outlook



Trading since the beginning of 2014 has been encouraging across all the Group businesses and providing these trends continue, we remain confident of meeting the Board's expectations for the full year. Our portfolio of sites has great potential in the recovering property market although navigating the planning process expediently continues to prove challenging.



KEY EVENTS IN THE PERIOD



LAND DEVELOPMENT




·

The steady improvement in the housing market has continued into 2014 helped by improving mortgage availability which we do not expect to be adversely affected by the tighter lending criteria recently announced.


·

During the period we completed five site disposals covering 435 units, with values achieved as expected.


·

Our land portfolio currently stands at 9,560 acres, marginally down on the end of 2013 total, as a result of the aforementioned land sales. We continue to be very active acquiring further sites and expect to add to the portfolio as and when purchase agreements are concluded.


·

Planning approvals (including minded to grant approvals) were achieved at nine sites for 1,040 housing units and 145 extra care plots. We are also awaiting the outcome of the Legal Challenge to the signed Section 106 agreement connected to the permission already granted on the 1,593 plot site at Blaby.


·

We have a further nine sites either at appeal or awaiting an appeal application for around 3,000 units in total.


·

New planning applications have been submitted in the period on six sites for 2,420 plots.


·

We currently have 36 consented sites which are in various stages of the disposal process. The disposal of our larger schemes will take place over a number of years, however, we are in advanced discussions for the sale of a number of other sites which we hope to report on further as this year progresses.




PROPERTY INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT




·

At our 200 acre business park at Markham Vale we completed development of a petrol filling station, small convenience store and drive-thru Starbucks. Contracts have also exchanged to pre-let a 50,000 sq ft industrial unit for development in the second half of the year. Furthermore, a £14.2m grant award in the period should assist the delivery of further industrial developments later in the year and into 2015.


·

The design and planning phase of a new 400,000 sq ft exhibition and conference centre in partnership with Aberdeen City Council is progressing well with the initial scheme proposal out to public consultation ahead of the submission of a planning application.


·

At Westlake's Science Park in Cumbria contracts have been exchanged to acquire a 1.2 acre site for a 21,000 sq ft office development, pre-let to W S Atkins PLC. Detailed planning permission and grant funding has been awarded for the scheme which will start later in the year and complete in the first half of 2015.


·

Construction work on our mixed-use leisure and office development on Deansgate, in Manchester completed early in 2014 and agreed terms for the final letting are expected to be exchanged soon.


·

At Thorne, we completed the site sale for a 36,000 sq ft supermarket to Tesco and enabling infrastructure works have now commenced.


·

In Stoke our tenant, Recticel Limited, who currently occupy 123,000 sq ft of industrial space manufacturing rigid foam board insulation, has committed to take a 69,000 sq ft warehouse and office extension, with a new 20 year lease on the enlarged unit. Work has commenced on site and is expected to be completed by October 2014.


·

The redevelopment and refurbishment of our retail scheme in Beeston town centre, near Nottingham, has commenced, following the exchange of a number of agreed lettings. The scheme is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.


·

Having completed the shell and core works early in 2014, we have now commenced the extensive fit-out works for the 50,000 sq ft office and outpatients centre, pre-let to Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust with completion expected early 2015.


·

We are currently in detailed discussions with both residential developers and hotel operators in connection with the former Chocolate Factory in York. Provided these discussions conclude successfully and planning permission is achieved as expected; we hope to begin delivering the scheme in 2015 taking several years to complete it.




CONSTRUCTION DIVISION




·

Our Construction business carried a strong order book into 2014 and has continued to win work such that we expect to achieve targeted activity in 2014 and are already building a 2015 order book. Although construction contract pricing is still tight and some inflationary pressure is just beginning to feed through, it is pleasing to report that the contracting opportunities available to us are at the highest levels for several years.


·

Road Link (A69) Limited, our PFI contract, continues to trade in line with the Board's expectations. We benefited from a relatively mild winter and traffic volumes have risen slightly for the first time in several years as the general economic recovery takes hold.


·

Banner Plant Limited has seen further improvements in activity and utilisation so far this year. Provided this continues through the summer months when 2013 comparatives were strong, we should achieve a solid result for the year.

Henry Boot PLC will announce the Group's Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2014 on Friday 22 August 2014.

2014 Half-yearly Results

HIGHLIGHTS




·

Operating profit: increased 79% to £14.0m (2013: £7.8m)


·

Property revaluation surplus: £1.8m (2013: deficit £0.5m)


·

Investment property disposal profits: £0.3m (2013: £0.2m)


·

Profit before tax: increased 81% to £13.4m (2013: £7.4m)


·

Earnings per share: increased 106% to 7.4p (2013: 3.6p)


·

Increased interim dividend: 2.10p (2013: 1.95p)


·

Net asset value per share: 149p (31 December 2013: 148p)


·

Net debt: £33.1m (31 December 2013: £36.1m)





http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4872823

22 Aug Investec 277.00 Buy
22 Aug Numis 254.00 Buy
22 Aug Investec 277.00 Buy

Director/PDMR Shareholding

RNS


RNS Number : 2602V

Boot(Henry) PLC

24 October 2014






HENRY BOOT PLC ('the Company')





Notification of transactions by a Person Discharging Managerial Responsibilities


The Company has been advised by Mr. Jonathan James Sykes, a Non-executive Director, that today, 24 October 2014 in London, he beneficially acquired 10,000 Ordinary Shares of 10 pence each ('Ordinary Shares') in the issued share capital of the Company at a price of 187.71 pence per share.

Interim Management Statement

RNS


RNS Number : 8521W

Boot(Henry) PLC

13 November 2014






Henry Boot PLC

('the Company' or 'the Group')





Interim Management Statement





The Board of Henry Boot PLC (LSE: BHY) issues the following unaudited Interim Management Statement in respect of the period 1 July 2014 to 12 November 2014.





Trading and outlook



Trading throughout the period has been good, with all our subsidiaries performing well within reasonably buoyant end marketplaces. This solid performance reaffirms our confidence in meeting the Board's expectations for the full year.



KEY EVENTS IN THE PERIOD



LAND DEVELOPMENT



The first half of 2014 saw increased land buying activity by house builders, fuelled by a rapid increase in the number of site openings and improving house sales, assisted by Government backed finance schemes such as 'Help to Buy'. During this second half of the year, however, we have seen this growth in activity moderate as tighter mortgage conditions and valuation concerns in London became more prevalent. Experience tells us that, for a period of time around the forthcoming general election, we will see a tougher planning regime in operation and to some extent this is happening already. Notwithstanding that, we have continued to take advantage of the more benevolent planning environment to secure a number of new permissions and, the healthy land market to conclude profitable land sales.



As a consequence, during the period:




·

We concluded land disposals at Marston Moretaine, Winsford, Oulton and Hailsham.


·

We agreed to promote greenfield land for planning on three new sites, bringing our total interests in land to 9,837 acres.


·

We successfully obtained planning approvals for 375 residential plots and 37 acres of land for employment use.




In addition:




·

We are in advanced negotiations on nine other land sales which bodes well for 2015.


·

We currently have six applications at the Appeal stage of the planning process totalling 2,510 plots.


·

We have a further 14 undetermined planning applications totalling 6,510 plots, and we have a significant portfolio of sites that are further back in the allocation or neighbourhood plan part of the planning status.


·

Finally, we have in the region of 40 sites, totalling some 11,000 plots, available for disposal. These schemes are distributed throughout England and Scotland and include five large sites at Blaby, Cranbrook, Bedford, Chatteris and Burton upon Trent where land disposals are likely to occur over a longer time frame.




PROPERTY INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT



After several years when developing investment property for an acceptable risk weighted return was very difficult, markets have begun to improve. The projects detailed below reflect an improving situation in both the investment and tenant appetite for newly built schemes, and the completion valuation of developments.




·

At Markham Vale, developed in partnership with Derbyshire County Council, we have successfully completed two design and build factory units totalling over 50,000 sq ft, both were delivered on time and budget. Furthermore, we have two pre-lets for an additional 150,000 sq ft of new factory space. Construction work has commenced on site with both units and is forecast to complete in 2015. Pre-let terms have also been agreed with a third company to lease a 40,000 sq ft factory unit with the development expected to commence early in 2015. Finally, the Marston's public house development is expected to be completed and trading by the end of 2014.


·

The first development with Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust to provide a new outpatient and office facility is on programme to be completed in December 2014. The second project, involving the mixed-use redevelopment of a 23 acre former hospital site, saw the submission of a planning application in the period.


·

The 69,000 sq ft factory extension to our industrial investment in Stoke-on-Trent, developed a number of years ago, has now completed on budget. In conjunction with this extension we have agreed a new 20 year lease with the existing tenant and expect this to have a positive impact on the investment's valuation at the 2014 year end.


·

The sale of the Pure Gym investment, situated at Clifton Moor in York, recently concluded at the latest valuation figure of £1.755m.


·

At our Bromley investment, we have agreed the rent review with the multi-storey car park operator and have secured a significant uplift. Once again, we expect to see the positive impact of this review in the property's forthcoming valuation.


·

At Beeston, Nottingham, the redevelopment and refurbishment of the existing town centre retail scheme should be completed by the end of 2014. Terms have been agreed with a national retailer to lease the last remaining retail unit resulting in the redevelopment being fully let by early 2015.


·

The development of two budget hotels in Richmond upon Thames and Malvern, unconditionally pre-let to Travelodge and Premier Inn respectively, have commenced and both are expected to be completed in 2015.


·

In Bodmin, having secured detailed planning consent, agreements have now been exchanged with Home Bargains to lease an initial phase, retail warehouse of 18,000 sq ft, with construction work expected to commence shortly.


·

In Cumbria, a 22,000 sq ft office development, fully pre-let to a subsidiary of W S Atkins plc, has commenced on site and is on programme to complete by mid 2015.


·

Stonebridge Homes Limited, our jointly owned Leeds based house builder, is on track to sell some 30 units by the end of this year, in line with management expectations.




CONSTRUCTION DIVISION




·

Henry Boot Construction Limited has traded strongly in 2014. Additionally, we expect to secure approximately 70% of 2015 budgeted turnover by the end of this year, slightly ahead of expectations. Encouragingly, we are seeing improvements in both construction activity and the size of opportunities coming to market. There are signs that this will begin to lead to improvements in pricing levels in 2015. However, the recovery is fragile, particularly in the north of England, and we recognise that construction activity may be temporarily affected by next year's general election.


·

We have continued to maintain a good presence in the social housing sector with long-term frameworks in Doncaster, North East Lincolnshire, and Manchester. We also continue to undertake construction projects across a wide range of sectors including industrial, health, commercial, education and leisure. Notably, and appearing to mirror improvements in the economy generally, we have seen increases in commercial and industrial tender opportunities.


·

We have recently secured a further four projects on our ongoing framework with the Ministry of Justice in the north of England, and expect further opportunities to arise over the remaining four years of this six year framework.


·

We have also seen an increase in civil engineering workloads during the year; in particular, within our supply chain agreement on the 25 year Amey Sheffield Highways 'Streets Ahead' PFI scheme where we have delivered a large number of small projects, and expect to deliver further, similar schemes over the next four years.


·

Road Link (A69) Limited, with 11 years of the 30 year franchise to run, continues to trade in line with management expectations.


·

Banner Plant Limited has traded well throughout the year and, subject to any major weather related event that impacts activity in December, we expect the result for the year to be ahead of 2013.

Trading Update

RNS


RNS Number : 1685Z

Boot(Henry) PLC

09 December 2014






HENRY BOOT PLC

('the Company')



Trading Update





The Company released a Trading Update on 13 November 2014 detailing that trading was in line with management expectations for the year ended 31 December 2014, and that it was in advanced negotiations on nine strategic land sales, which bodes well for 2015.



Today, the Company announces that two of those strategic land sales have now completed and consequently, we anticipate that our trading result for the year ended 31 December 2014 will be materially ahead of current consensus expectations.



We anticipate publishing a Pre-close Trading Update on 23 January 2015, regarding the Company's unaudited year end trading and the unaudited investment property valuation movements as at 31 December 2014

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9 Dec Numis 254.00 Buy
9 Dec Investec 277.00 Buy

Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 8053C
Boot(Henry) PLC
22 January 2015



HENRY BOOT PLC

('the Group')



Trading Update





The Board of Henry Boot PLC issues the following pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 December 2014.



Subsequent to the recent trading update on 9 December 2014, trading continued to be healthy through to 31 December 2014, in particular, in our plant, construction and jointly owned house builder businesses. This performance, coupled with minor variations to expected property values arising from the year end external property valuation, means that the Board is pleased to announce that profit before tax for the year ended 31 December 2014 is expected to be comfortably ahead of current consensus market expectations.



2015 has started well across all of the Group's businesses with the seven land sale transactions mentioned in the trading update, progressing satisfactorily towards a conclusion in the year.



We look forward to updating shareholders in more detail at the time of our 2014 full year results announcement on Thursday 26 March 2015.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


22 Jan Numis 254.00 Buy
22 Jan Investec 277.00 Buy

IC - Accordingly analysts at Numis Securities are upgrading their forecasts for the third time in a year to pre tax profit of £28.2m and EPS of 15.3p. Trading at the start of the year shows a continuing strong trend, with seven land sales progressing to a successful conclusion. Significantly, the groups construction and jointly-owned housebuilding business have also performed well.

Simon T of IC - Target price

As I have noted earlier, the company’s balance sheet is not only conservatively geared, but also understates the true worth of the component parts of the business. Factor in the profits embedded in the development pipeline, mark investment properties and land holding to market value, and analysts at Investec calculate a sum-of-the-parts value of 277p per share. W.H. Ireland are more aggressive and have a fair value target price of 317p.

They may prove right in their assumptions, but I am going to be less aggressive in the near-term and believe that a return to the 249p highs of last year is not just a realistic short-term target, but a highly probably one too in light of next month’s eye-catching financial results and yet more positive news flow on trading. A move through last month's high of 214p would be strong confirmation that the multi-month consolidation period is over and a return to the 249p highs from early last year is highly likely. But I would be acting ahead of that that price move. So offering 20 per cent share price upside, I rate Henry Boot’s shares a strong short-term buy now on a bid-offer spread of 202p to 205.5p. The timeframe for this trade is three months.

6 Mar Investec 277.00 Buy

ST of IC -Foundation for bumper profits from Granite city

Investors are warming to Henry Boot

(BHY: 232p), the 129-year-old Sheffield based construction and property company, and with good reason after Aberdeen City Council approved the master plan and business case for the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), a development that will be more than twice the size of the existing exhibition centre.

Henry Boot had the site, on which the scheme will be built, under contract and will act as development partner, alongside Aberdeen City Council, to deliver this project. Construction work is set to start by the middle of next year and is due to complete in late 2018. It is estimated that the gross development value of the first phase, including the 750,000 sq ft exhibition and conference centre, two hotels and an anaerobic digestion green energy centre, will exceed £300m. Analysts at brokerage Investec estimate that Henry Boot will make a development profit of £30m on the first phase alone, phased in from the 2016 fiscal year to 2019. The master plan envisages a further 400,000 sq ft of business park accommodation and the redevelopment of the existing conference centre site.

Investec now expects Henry Boot to lift its gross trading profit from £41m in 2014 to £44m in 2015, rising again to £46m in 2016. On this basis, the shares are still only trading on 12.5 times 2016 EPS estimates of 18.5p and offer a near-3 per cent forward dividend yield, too. The value on offer aside, the AECC deal shows how the company is releasing value from its substantial land bank and is using commercial partners to front the development costs to de-risk the investment. In fact, Henry Boot is making no capital investment in the AECC at all.

So having advised buying the shares at 202p (‘A bootiful investment’, 19 February 2015), I strongly feel there is scope for them to rise to my 249p target price and beyond. Analyst Alison Watson at Investec has a 277p target price, and Nick Spoliar at WH Ireland has a 317p target price. Buy.

Finals Thurs 26 March

Final Results
RNS
RNS Number : 4717I
Boot(Henry) PLC
26 March 2015



HENRY BOOT PLC



UNAUDITED PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014


Henry Boot PLC ('Henry Boot', 'the Company' or 'the Group') (Ticker: BHY: Main market premium listing: FTSE: construction & materials), a company engaged in land development, property investment and development, and construction, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2014.


2014 KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
· Profit before tax increased 54% to £28.3m (2013: £18.4m)

· Earnings per share increased 88% to 16.2p (2013: 8.6p)

· Proposed final dividend of 3.50p (2013: 3.15p), giving a total for the year of 5.60p (2013: 5.10p), a 9.8% increase

· 74% total shareholder return over the last three years

· Net asset value per share of 152p (2013: 148p)

· Gearing reduced to 18% (2013: 19%), though net debt increased slightly to £36.4m (2013: £36.1m)

· Strategic land acreage now 9,985 acres (2013: 9,723 acres)



Commenting on the results, Chairman John Brown said:

"I am delighted to report another year of strong results for our Group. It is also pleasing to report that all of the businesses within the Group performed well in their market segment."

"Henry Boot enters 2015 in great shape, with a portfolio of high quality opportunities to deliver growing shareholder returns. The 2015 financial year has started positively."

"In the shorter term, we remain confident that prevailing economic and market conditions will allow us to deliver growing returns through 2015. In the longer term we continue to identify and acquire numerous valuable opportunities to enable us to deliver our strategic goal, well into the future."

For further information, please contact

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////



26 Mar WH Ireland... 317.50 Buy
26 Mar Investec 282.00 Buy

ST of IC today - There are selective holdings I am keen on irrespective of who is running the country in a few weeks time, one of which is Henry Boot

(BHY: 225p) (‘A six-shooter of small cap buys’, 10 March 2015). The 129-year-old Sheffield based construction and property company is likely to be a beneficiary no matter which political party is in power. Henry Boot owns a significant number of oven ready sites which undoubtedly will prove attractive to major housebuilders as I pointed out when I initiated coverage, especially if they are forced through political intervention to ramp out new build output (‘A bootiful investment’, 19 February 2015).

21 May Investec 282.00 Buy

AGM Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 8241N
Boot(Henry) PLC
21 May 2015



Henry Boot PLC

('the Company' or 'the Group')



AGM Trading Update





Henry Boot PLC will hold its Annual General Meeting at 12.30 p.m. today at which the Chairman will make the following statement regarding current trading and the outlook for the current financial year.



The statement covers the period from 1 January 2015 to date and supplements the update given with the 2014 results on 26 March 2015.





Trading and outlook



Trading since the beginning of 2015 has, once again, been encouraging across all the Group's businesses. The three business segments, land, commercial development and construction, are all trading well. A short term lack of decision making around the Election, especially within the public sector, meant that, as expected, concluding transactions in the last couple of months have been a little slower. However, the strengthened position of the governing party leads us to expect a quick return to normalised activity levels. We therefore remain confident of meeting the Board's expectations for the full year.





KEY EVENTS IN THE PERIOD



LAND DEVELOPMENT



Activity levels continue to be high within Hallam Land. We are promoting a land portfolio of over 140 sites amounting to over 10,000 acres.



During the period:



·
We concluded two land sales for over 500 units and received a small uplift from a previous disposal, all at price levels we were anticipating.



·
We are in discussion to sell a further 13 sites for over 1,800 consented units, some of which will complete in 2015, others will conclude in 2016.



·
In total, and including the sales in progress above, we have 47 sites with over 12,000 units holding either planning permission or "minded to grant" consent subject to agreeing a S106 with the local authority in question.



·
We have a further 25 sites for over 10,000 units which are within the planning process but are, as yet, undetermined or are within the appeals system.




PROPERTY INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT



·
At Markham Vale, our 200 acre business park being developed in partnership with Derbyshire County Council, pre-let agreements have been exchanged with Great Bear Distribution Ltd to take a new 480,000 sq ft distribution warehouse. This scheme is expected to be completed by mid-2016 and terms for the forward funded sale of the development are expected to be finalised shortly. This letting is in addition to 190,000 sq ft of pre-let industrial development that is already expected to complete in 2015.



·
The development of a new exhibition and conference centre for Aberdeen City Council took a significant step forward in March 2015 when the Council gave unanimous approval to complete legal agreements. This scheme will include three hotels, an energy centre as well as a 400,000 sq ft conference and exhibition centre. Planning applications are expected to be submitted by mid-year and construction is targeted to commence in early 2016.



·
A ten year development agreement was exchanged with the Crown Estate and Luton Borough Council for the development of Butterfields Business Park, a 45 acre employment site in Luton, which already has planning permission and is partially serviced.



·
The redevelopment of Terry's Chocolate Factory in York also made significant progress with submission of detailed planning and listed building consent applications and the exchange of contracts for the conversion of the main listed factory building to provide over 150 luxury apartments. Planning permission is expected to be secured mid-year, enabling work to commence by late 2015 with the first apartments being completed in the first half of 2016.



·
The 22,000 sq ft office development, pre-let to Atkins Ltd, on Westlakes Science Park in Cumbria will be completed imminently, on programme and to budget, terms for the sale of the investment are expected to be agreed shortly.



·
Our jointly owned house builder, Stonebridge, is on course to grow further this year with completed sales ahead of last year. We achieved planning permission on a 114 unit development in Sheffield and are hopeful of gaining consent for a further 109 units in Leeds mid-2015. We are actively acquiring further sites, predominantly in the north Leeds area, to provide for the anticipated future growth in unit sales.




CONSTRUCTION DIVISION



·
Our Construction business continues to undertake projects across a wide range of sectors including industrial, residential housing, custodial, health, commercial, education, leisure, renewable energy and civil engineering. We have made a strong start to the year and expect to achieve targeted activity in 2015 and are already building the 2016 order book. Encouragingly, and contrary to press comments regarding parts of the UK construction market, we are seeing improvements in both construction activity and the size of opportunities coming to market. As a consequence, we hope for a small improvement in pricing levels associated with the growing workload in all our operating sectors.



·
Our plant business is trading well and activity is ahead of the equivalent period last year. At this stage, we are seeing good demand for all parts of the hire fleet from a generally improving construction industry in the north of England.



·
Road Link (A69) Limited, our PFI contract, continues to trade in line with previous years and management expectations.

ST of IC today - Trading on 13 times forward earnings, and offering a prospective dividend yield of 2.5 per cent, I continue to rate the shares a buy on a bid-offer spread of 230p to 235p. In fact, I have raised my target price to 260p to reflect the more stable housing market conditions resulting from the election of a Conservative administration.

2015 Half yearly results

28 Aug Investec 292.00 Buy

ST of IC - Target price

So having first recommended buying Henry Boot’s shares at 202p (‘A bootiful investment’, 19 February 2015), I continue to feel there is scope for the price to rise to at least my 260p target price (‘A trio of small cap buys’, 14 July 2015) and perhaps even higher. Analyst Alison Watson at Investec has a raised target price of 292p, and Nick Spoliar at WH Ireland has a 317.5p target price.

Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 9161L
Boot(Henry) PLC
15 January 2016



HENRY BOOT PLC

('the Group')



Trading Update





The Board of Henry Boot PLC issues the following pre-close trading update for the year ended 31 December 2015 ahead of its preliminary results which will be announced on Thursday 24 March 2016.



December was, as expected, very busy from a deal completion perspective; we sold four strategic land sites and four completed development properties with the result that underlying trading profits finished the year ahead of market expectations. In addition, we have received draft year end property valuation data and have made provisions against certain investment sites where the anticipated schemes will not now come forward as originally envisaged.



Taking account of the above solid trading performance and draft valuation data, the Board now expects that profit before tax and earnings per share for the year ended 31 December 2015 will be slightly ahead of market expectations.



We are now on site with the residential redevelopment of the former Chocolate Factory in York and expect to begin selling units from this scheme imminently, with show homes opening in March 2016. In addition, the fully pre-let and pre-sold 480,000 sq ft distribution unit at Markham Vale commenced in November 2015 for completion late in 2016.



We recently obtained detailed planning permission for our major development in Aberdeen which includes a conference centre, three hotels, an anaerobic digestion plant and an energy centre. This, first-phase scheme, has a gross development value in the region of £300m and once financing and contractor discussions are concluded, we hope to start building out midway through 2016.



With the scale of commercial development in progress and the discussions already taking place with house builders for strategic land sites, we start 2016 in an excellent position to achieve another year of progress as we strive to deliver growth in long-term shareholder value.



We look forward to updating shareholders further at the time of our annual results.

15 Jan Investec 292.00 Buy

ST of IC today - In the circumstances, and ahead of next month's full-year results, I feel very comfortable re-iterating my buy advice and my target price of 260p with Henry Boot's shares trading on a bid-offer spread of 220p to 222p. Analyst Alison Watson at Investec maintains a target price of 292p, and Nick Spoliar at WH Ireland has a target price of 317p. Buy.

Thursday's agenda: Henry Boot set to kick profits higher

15:15 23 Mar 2016

Housebuilder set to report annual profits slightly above expectations



Numis expects steady growth in Boot's construction division as industry conditions improve




Henry Boot plc (LON:BHY) is tipped to turn in profits slightly above expectations when the housebuilder reports annual results on Thursday.

Analysts expect the builder and property developer to report "robust growth" in its land development arm, driven by volume rather than price inflation.

"Looking forward, we do not expect a significant change to this trend, with pricing relatively flat but continued growth in demand for land as housebuilding activity increases," Numis Securities analysts said.

Numis expects a stronger second half for the company's property division as it completed a number of development properties, although it would be offset by write-downs on slower-moving investment sites.

"Nonetheless, we believe this division will underpin the group's earnings growth over the medium term," the broker's Christen Hjorth said.

"Finally, we expect a continuation of steady growth in the construction division as industry conditions improve."

Numis expects pre-tax profit of £29.9mln against £28.3mln a year ago.

Final Results

RNS


RNS Number : 0990T

Boot(Henry) PLC

24 March 2016




HENRY BOOT PLC

UNAUDITED PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2015

Henry Boot PLC ('Henry Boot', 'the Company' or 'the Group') (Ticker: BHY: Main market premium listing: FTSE: construction & materials), a company engaged in land development, property investment and development, and construction, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2015.

2015 KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

· Profit before tax increased 14% to £32.4m (2014: £28.3m)

· Earnings per share increased 8% to 17.5p (2014: 16.2p)

· Proposed final dividend of 3.80p (2014: 3.50p), giving a total for the year of 6.10p (2014: 5.60p), a 9% increase

· Net asset value per share increased 10% to 168p (2014: 152p)

· Conservative gearing at 18% (2014: 18%), net debt £38.9m (2014: £36.4m)

· Strategic land acreage now 11,061 acres (2014: 9,985 acres)

· 78% total shareholder return over the last three years

Commenting on the results, Chairman Jamie Boot said:

"I am delighted to report a 14% increase in profit before tax to £32.4m for the year ended 31 December 2015. Once again, all our business segments performed well within a solid UK economy.

"I have taken over as Chairman with the business in excellent shape and with our people energised to deliver significant growth in activity. I look forward to reporting on progress through 2016 and beyond."

24 Mar Numis 265.00 Add

AGM Trading Update

RNS


RNS Number : 3208Z

Boot(Henry) PLC

26 May 2016




HENRY BOOT PLC

('the Company' or 'the Group')



AGM TRADING UPDATE





Henry Boot PLC will hold its Annual General Meeting at 12.30 p.m. today at which the Chairman will make the following statement regarding current trading and the outlook for the current financial year.



The statement covers the period from 1 January 2016 to date and supplements the update given with the 2015 results on 24 March 2016.





Trading and outlook



Trading since the beginning of 2016 has, once again, been encouraging; the Group's three business segments, land development, property investment and development and construction, are all trading well. However, we may see some transactional uncertainty around the EU referendum. We do not anticipate this will last for long or have a detrimental effect on the year as a whole, and therefore we remain confident that trading will meet the Board's expectations for the full year.



KEY EVENTS IN THE PERIOD



LAND DEVELOPMENT



Since the start of 2016 activity levels have been, and continue to be, strong.




·

We have already concluded four land sales totalling over 450 units and have unconditionally exchanged on two further sites, with completion expected later in the year. In addition, we are in detailed sale discussions on ten other schemes; the majority of which should also complete before the year end.




·

We have seen further success in our planning activities since December 2015, having obtained planning permission on five sites, for over 3,400 units. We now have 52 sites for sale with over 15,000 units and an additional 29 sites, over 13,000 units, either at appeal or as yet undetermined planning applications.




·

Our land promotion portfolio now totals over 150 sites and 11,200 acres. Furthermore, we have board approval for some 30 new sites, for in excess of 2,000 acres, to replenish the portfolio for the future.




·

House builders continue to report good progress with stable levels of demand for new homes and are replenishing their land banks as sales are made. We look forward to reporting further activity as sales complete throughout the rest of the year.




PROPERTY INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT




·

At Markham Vale, our 200 acre business park being developed in partnership with Derbyshire County Council, we are on track to develop over one million sq ft of distribution space by the end of the year. This follows the exchange of contracts for a 225,000 sq ft bespoke unit and agreement of terms for a further 480,000 sq ft of warehousing, in addition to the 480,000 sq ft of space already pre-let to Great Bear Distribution Limited. These three schemes, which are forward funded or pre-sold, are all expected to complete in late 2016 or early 2017.




·

The 850,000 sq ft exhibition and conference centre in Aberdeen continues to move forward following the final approval of the scheme by the City Council. We are now working on the final terms with our construction partner and our funder and hope to be on site, as planned, in the second half of 2016.




·

Contracts were exchanged early in the year with Atkins Limited on a site in Epsom, Surrey, to develop 110,000 sq ft of high specification offices. With detailed planning permission already secured, initial enabling works will start this year and the development, which is forward funded, is expected to be completed towards the end of 2017.




·

In Manchester city centre, contracts have been exchanged with U.S. Property Fund, Ares, to forward fund a 570 unit private rented apartment development on a 2.5 acre site which we hold under contract. A detailed planning application for the scheme was recently submitted; once secured, we expect to commence this £200m development in the first half of 2017.




·

At the former Terry's chocolate factory in York, our development opened for apartment sales in April 2016. We already have reservations on over 40 luxury apartments at sales values above those originally envisaged. The first sales completions are expected in the second half of 2016 and current demand indicates that we should see further sales throughout this year and 2017.




·

Elsewhere, a number of other smaller projects have commenced. These include retail warehouse developments in Livingston and Belper, a car dealership site on the edge of Chesterfield and an office refurbishment and extension in Uxbridge.




·

Our jointly owned house builder, Stonebridge, started development on the 109 unit site in Leeds late in 2015 and recently began building out the 114 unit site in Stocksbridge. Sales have commenced on both sites with good initial interest. We expect these two sites to be the main areas of growth for Stonebridge supported by a growing site portfolio.






CONSTRUCTION DIVISION




·

Our Construction business continues to undertake projects across a wide range of sectors including industrial, residential housing, custodial, health, commercial, education, leisure, renewable energy and civil engineering. We have made a strong start to the year and expect to achieve targeted activity in 2016 and are already building the 2017 order book. Encouragingly, and contrary to certain press comment regarding parts of the UK construction market, we are seeing improvements in both construction activity and the size of opportunities coming to the market. As a consequence, we anticipate a small improvement in pricing levels associated with the growing workload in all our operating sectors.




·

Our plant business is trading well and activity is ahead of the equivalent period last year. Encouragingly, we are currently seeing good demand for all parts of the hire fleet from a generally busy construction industry in the North of England.




·

Road Link (A69) Limited, our PFI contract, continues to trade in line with previous years and management expectations.

Trading Update & completion of further land sales

RNS


RNS Number : 5165A

Boot(Henry) PLC

08 June 2016




London: Wednesday, 8 June 2016







HENRY BOOT PLC

('the Company' or 'the Group')



TRADING UPDATE AND COMPLETION OF FURTHER LAND SALES



Henry Boot PLC (BHY.L) announces that further to its recent Trading Update issued on 26 May 2016 the Group has since concluded two further land sales for 275 house units, one of which was ahead of original schedule.



While one of these land sales completed in line with the Board's expectations, management had initially forecast that the second land sale (and notably the larger of the two) would comprise three separate sales across the three years ending 31 December 2018.



This sale completed yesterday evening (7 June 2016), earlier than management expected, with the site sold in two (rather than three) parts in each of 2016 and 2017. Furthermore, the sale results in a materially higher total profit on disposal than had been previously anticipated.



Taking into account the level of land sales now completed by the Group since the start of the year, together with the commercial development work in progress through the second half of the year, and irrespective of the EU Referendum result, the Board now anticipates that profit before tax for the year ending 31 December 2016 will be comfortably ahead of current market expectations.



Further detail will be provided in the Company's results announcement for the half year ending 30 June 2016, which will reflect much of the aforementioned outperformance, and is expected to be published on 25 August 2016.

8 Jun Numis 265.00 Buy

Notice of Half-yearly Results

RNS


RNS Number : 1942H

Boot(Henry) PLC

15 August 2016




Henry Boot PLC

('the Company' or 'the Group')



Notice of Half-yearly Results





Henry Boot PLC will announce the Group's Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2016 on Thursday 25 August 2016.

Aberdeen Conference Centre goes unconditional

RNS


RNS Number : 9438H

Boot(Henry) PLC

24 August 2016




Unconditional Development Agreement now in place with Aberdeen City Council for the development of their new Exhibition and Conference Centre



Henry Boot PLC announces that late on the 23 August 2016, Henry Boot Developments Limited, the property development arm of the Group, concluded unconditional agreements with Aberdeen City Council for their new exhibition and conference centre, four-star hotel and energy centre.



The £333 million development, which will be funded by the City Council, received detailed planning permission at the end of 2015 and is located on the 130 acre former Rowett Research Institute site adjacent to Aberdeen International Airport. The scheme will include a 12,500 capacity performance venue, extensive covered exhibition halls, a four-star 200 bed hotel to be operated under the Hilton Hotels brand together with an energy centre and 2,500 parking spaces. This initial phase of the scheme will provide more than 800,000 sq ft of space and includes a development agreement for another 150 bed hotel, to be operated under the Aloft brand, which has also been exchanged, conditional upon the grant of detailed planning permission, expected later this year.



Robertson Construction Group Ltd, the main contractor, has commenced work on site and development completion is expected in the first half of 2019.



Henry Boot Developments Limited has also secured planning permission for a further 400,000 sq ft of business park space on land adjoining the exhibition and conference centre, which will be serviced as part of the above scheme, and developed jointly with Aberdeen City Council.



Jamie Boot, Chairman of Henry Boot PLC, commented:



"We are delighted to have been selected by the Aberdeen City Council to develop the city's new exhibition and conference centre, four-star hotel and energy centre. This is a landmark agreement for Henry Boot Developments with development expected to be completed in 2019.



It is very pleasing to see the larger commercial development schemes we have been preparing for some time now finally on site. We remain mindful of the challenges facing our industry after the result of the EU Referendum, taking into consideration this current market backdrop, we maintain a cautious outlook and as such the Board's expectations remain unchanged."

Half year results

MIDAS-SHARE-TIPS UPDATE


Midas verdict: Henry Boot is a conservatively run, long-term business. The shares were hit immediately after the Brexit vote, as investors worried about the outlook for the property sector.

However, they have since bounced back and should continue to gain ground. Shareholders who bought in 2011 should hold. New investors could also give these shares a closer look.

ST of IC today - True, the shares have yet to make any meaningful headway on my 205p buy-in price ('A bootiful investment', 19 Feb 2015), but I still believe this is a rock solid company and one where my heavily discounted sum-of-the-parts valuation of 280p a share is warranted. Buy

Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 3836U
Boot(Henry) PLC
18 January 2017
 
HENRY BOOT PLC
('the Group')
 
Trading Update
 
 
The Board of Henry Boot PLC issues the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2016 ahead of its full year results which will be announced on Friday, 24 March 2017.
 
December 2016 was, as expected, a busy month from a deal completion perspective. Certain land and property development deals completed in line with our expectations and the month also saw a total of 44 residential completions at our JV house builder, Stonebridge Projects, and The Chocolate Factory in York. In addition, construction work on the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre development is ahead of schedule resulting in marginally higher profit recognition for the year. We have also now received the draft investment property valuation data for our portfolio for 31 December 2016 which was as expected.
 
Taking the above into account, the Board now expects that profit before tax and earnings per share for the year ended 31 December 2016 will be slightly ahead of market expectations.
 
Furthermore, and notwithstanding the continuing macroeconomic concerns regarding the EU Referendum, the committed and contracted activity we already have in place means we start 2017 in an excellent position to achieve yet another year of further progress, delivering growth in long-term shareholder value.
 
We look forward to updating shareholders further on 24 March 2017 with our full year results announcement.

Final results

2016 KEY HIGHLIGHTS
·     Revenue increased 74% to £306.8m (2015: £176.2m)
·     Profit before tax increased 22% to £39.5m (2015: £32.4m)
·     Earnings per share increased 23% to 21.5p (2015: 17.5p)
·     Proposed final dividend of 4.50p (2015: 3.80p), giving a total for the year of 7.00p (2015: 6.10p), a 15% increase
·     Net asset value per share increased 5% to 177p (2015: 168p)
·     Conservative gearing at 14% (2015: 18%), net debt £32.9m (2015: £38.9m)
·     Strategic land acreage now 11,888 acres (2015: 11,061 acres)

ST of IC today - I feel Henry Boot's share price has potential to rerate to the 300p level. Buy.

AGM Trading Update
RNS
RNS Number : 0945G
Boot(Henry) PLC
25 May 2017
 
                                                                                                                        25 May 2017
 
HENRY BOOT PLC
('Henry Boot', 'the Company' or 'the Group')
 
AGM TRADING UPDATE
 
 
Henry Boot PLC, a company engaged in land promotion, property investment and development, and construction, will hold its Annual General Meeting at 12.30 p.m. today at which the Chairman will make the following statement regarding current trading and the outlook for the current financial year.
 
Trading and outlook
 
Property trading and development activity levels since the beginning of 2017 have been very encouraging and the Group's three business segments; land promotion, property investment and development and construction are trading strongly. Henry Boot is, fundamentally, a transactions driven business and there is always a degree of uncertainty with regard to the timing of these deals within a particular financial period. We are pleased to report that any uncertainty created by the current UK general election process is not having an impact on our business.
 
Given the strong start we have made in 2017, and anticipating no major changes to the underlying economic conditions in which we operate, we now anticipate the Group's performance for the current financial year ending 31 December 2017 will be comfortably ahead of the Board's existing expectations.
 
KEY EVENTS IN THE PERIOD
 
LAND PROMOTION
 
Hallam Land Management, our strategic land business, has made a very solid start to the year. Transactions expected to complete in 2017 are progressing as anticipated and the UK's major house builders are reporting slightly higher levels of activity and strong demand for new houses.
 
·     
So far this year we have concluded land sales totalling over 900 units on seven sites. In addition, we have unconditionally exchanged on two other sites and are in detailed discussions regarding the sales of a further nine schemes.
 
·     
We have also obtained planning permission on six sites for 1,965 units and now have 50 sites for sale comprising over 17,600 units. We have a further 11,000 units on 32 sites which are currently undetermined planning applications or at appeal.
 
·     
The total portfolio of land promotion sites is now 163 covering 11,900 acres with a further 28 sites, over 2,100 acres, expected to be brought into the portfolio subject to the completion of due diligence and legal agreement.
 
PROPERTY INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
 
·     
The 200-acre business park at Markham Vale will once again see a number of developments delivered in 2017 with over 650,000 sq ft of industrial and distribution space in progress.
 
·     
We have been on site at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre for almost a year now and construction is progressing to plan, with a target completion date of mid-2019.
 
·     
We expect that the remaining 76 of the original 163 apartments within the main factory building at the former Terry's Chocolate Factory in York will be sold during 2017, completing this phase of work. We will then turn our attention to the smaller Clock Tower redevelopment and the final three-acre site which is likely to be a further residential opportunity, subject to planning.
 
·     
In Manchester city centre, the jointly developed and forward funded 539-unit private rented apartment development should see the completion of the strip out and demolition contract by mid-2017, with the main redevelopment beginning on the conclusion of that work.
 
·     
Our jointly owned house builder, Stonebridge Projects, is trading well and is targeting sales of 100 units in 2017, up from 70 units in 2016. Reservations and sales at this stage of the year are on track to achieve our targets.
 
CONSTRUCTION
 
·     
Our construction business continues to work across a wide range of sectors, including industrial, residential, custodial, health, commercial, education, leisure and civil engineering. We have made a good start to the year and expect to achieve targeted activity in 2017, whilst also building our 2018 order book. The level of contract opportunities coming to the market is similar to the previous two years and we continue to win work at broadly the same rate.
 
·     
Our plant hire business, Banner Plant, completed the acquisition of Premier Plant Tool Hire & Sales Limited in Leicester for £2.8m in the period; taking our activities a little further south down the M1 motorway corridor. The integration of the new business is progressing well and both the existing and new depots are trading in line with our expectations.
 
·     
Road Link (A69) Limited, our PFI contract, continues to trade well and in line with previous years and management expectations.