Harworth Group plc, a leading regenerator of land and property for development and investment, announces that Ian Ball has been promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer with effect from the 1st of May to support the ongoing growth and evolution of its business.
This newly created role will provide additional oversight over the business' new regional operating model, whilst bringing together the Capital Growth and Income Generation teams within a single management structure. The position will ensure that the senior management team is best positioned to support the appraisal and development of all new projects being generated by its regional teams and to maximise the opportunities for synergies between the existing Strategic Land and Income teams. This includes an on-going commitment to direct development of new commercial space on its major developments in stronger market locations alongside other value add initiatives on all sites, in order to capture a greater percentage of overall development profit.
The appointment of its first Chief Operating Officer forms part of the ongoing evolution of Harworth since its re-listing in 2015 and will allow Owen Michaelson, the Chief Executive, to increase his focus on new business initiatives which support our existing strategy, alongside his continued leadership of the business, Investor Relations work and interaction with all stakeholders to promote the business at local, national and international level.
Ian already has a deep understanding of the business. He originally joined Harworth in 2014 and was promoted to the role of Executive Director for Income Generation in 2015 where he has overseen the Company's efforts to increase the quality and breadth of its income base from its Business Space, Natural Resources and Operations functions. This has included the delivery of over 1m sq. ft of direct developments within its portfolio, funded via a range of partnership and debt structures. Ian is a Chartered Surveyor by background and has strong banking & commercial experience having worked for a number of European private equity Real Estate funds in London and commercial banks in the regions.
Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive of Harworth, said:
“As the company develops and evolves so too must our organisational structure in order to maintain the delivery of market-leading total returns. I am certain that Ian's depth of commercial experience, supported by his rigorous analytical methods, will ensure that we maximise available opportunities from our existing and future projects across the North of England and the Midlands.”