Property and construction group Henry Boot has reported a strong start to 2026, with resilient demand across its residential land, industrial and logistics developments, and premium housing divisions, despite growing concerns over global instability and domestic political uncertainty.
Providing a trading update ahead of its AGM, the Sheffield-headquartered business said Hallam Land has either sold or agreed terms on more than 2,600 residential plots so far this year, while its development arm HBD has seen more than 231,000 sq ft of industrial space either let or under offer. Meanwhile, Stonebridge Homes has continued to deliver stable sales performance, with customer demand remaining in line with both expectations and last year’s figures.
Chief Executive Tim Roberts said the company continues to benefit from strong structural demand across its key markets, although recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and political uncertainty in the UK are beginning to impact confidence levels.
He noted that buyers are becoming increasingly cautious, with larger transactions taking longer to complete, while higher energy and material prices are creating renewed inflationary pressures across construction supply chains.
Despite these headwinds, Henry Boot said it remains on track to achieve profit before tax in line with 2026 market expectations of £20.2m.
The group’s strategic land business, Hallam Land, continues to benefit from what it described as a “highly favourable” planning environment. The business is targeting the submission of planning applications for a further 10,000 plots during 2026 and has increased its total land bank to more than 108,000 plots following the acquisition of two new sites.
In the industrial and logistics sector, HBD’s £66m development programme remains on schedule and within budget, with particularly strong interest being reported across the Origin joint venture portfolio. The developer also confirmed continued progress at its flagship £1bn Golden Valley scheme in Cheltenham, adjacent to GCHQ, where detailed planning consent was recently secured for Phase 1, including the National Cyber Innovation Centre.
Henry Boot added that long-term fundamentals across residential, industrial and urban development markets remain positive, positioning the business strongly for medium-term growth.
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