News: Rotherham cinema to host Reytons album launch

The Reytons are set to celebrate the launch of their latest album with home town fans in Rotherham this weekend, reports Visit Rotherham.

A Love Letter to a Broken Town is the fourth studio album by the indie rock band who describe it as being "for the community, the roots and the towns that made us..."

Visit Rotherham reported first that The Reytons are planning to pop up at Arc Cinema on Forge Island, the £47m landmark leisure destination in Rotherham town centre.

For a band who release their music entirely on their own terms with no major label backing or corporate support, and in typical Reytons style, press interviews for the album were carried out by the lads themselves in Rotherham town centre.

Buying a sofa set and coffee table from the British Heart Foundation, lead singer, Jonny, interviewed the rest of the band at the foot of the High Street to talk about the album, and Rotherham and towns like it.

Promo photos and videos for new songs off the album also feature Rotherham prominently - Jukebox is set in the beautiful town centre pub, The Cutler's Arms, and Busker's Paradise centres on the cyclical journey of a £5 note as it travels through shops and pubs in South Yorkshire. The artwork for Hello Are You Today? features a phone box on the High Street.

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The Meet & Greet Event is taking place on Saturday August 8 (9:00am - 5:00pm) and Sunday August 9 (11:00am - 6:00pm) at Arc Cinema on Forge Island in Rotherham town centre.

Through The Reytons website, fans need to pick a time slot to attend a private cinema screening, followed by a Q&A, Meet & Greet and other entertainment.

A small £2 charge for the tickets will be donated to local charities.

The band are releasing a limited edition pop up record featuring an illustration of the town inspired by Roald Dahl. £5 from every record sold will go directly to Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice in Rotherham.

Jonny Yerrell said in the latest video interview: "This town is important to me, you know, I grew up here. I've got so many fond memories, whether it's just walking through the town with my nan, going to McDonald's parties as a kid. I mean I once turned the Christmas lights on stood on the on the roof around the corner. I've done so much in this town, I've had so many questionable nights walking up and down these streets on a night out.

"Even recently again with individuals deciding to do things to try and put Rotherham down every time, but this album to us, when you pick it up, when you look through the books, even through through the dirt you see the diamonds do you know what I mean? There's something beautiful about this place and we know it and we want other people to see it.

"When you're looking around, the architecture in this town is incredible, and the council are definitely definitely improving it in terms of there's a lot of money being spent down at the bottom on Forge Island, which is where we're going to be this weekend. You can come down to the cinema, there's a lot of things that we want you to see because Rotherham does get a lot of shade."

The Reytons website

Images: The Reytons/ YouTube

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News: Council refines Rotherham shop front grant scheme

Priority areas across the borough have been the target in the latest round of shop front grants from Rotherham Council.

46 businesses successfully secured funding to make improvements to the premises through the initial scheme.

£270,000 was utilised from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and a decision was made in December 2025 to allocate a further £117,643 to the project from the same pot to meet demand.

The scheme has been given a further funding boost. Rothbiz reported in May that £666,655 (£110,000 revenue and £556,655 capital) had been set aside for Shop Unit Grants from the council's Local Growth Fund allocation.

The latest round of funding has two aspects to enhance the exterior of business premises in eligible High Street locations - one for existing businesses and one to help bring empty units back into use.

Existing businesses have been applying for up to £10,000 for their projects, with them funding anything above this level. This can be for things like exterior re-painting, new windows, doors and shop frontage, improved access and new signage.

A council report explained that "some funding is available to bring empty units back into use, with funding available to support projects up to £20,000. The first £10,000 of the project is 100% funded. Anything up to £20,000 after that is 50% match funded, meaning there is a maximum grant of £15,000 available.

"The Scheme will seek to revitalise local high streets across the borough, through bringing empty units back into use and improving the exteriors of existing buildings. Funding to the internal fabric of building can also be supported in certain cases."

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Priority sites are: Rotherham town centre; Parkgate / Rawmarsh (From the bottom of Rawmarsh Hill and not the retail parks); Dinnington; Maltby; Swinton; Thurcroft; Wath; and Dalton.

Rotherham Council said that applications outside of these areas will be considered on a case-by-case basis but priority will be given the areas.

Empty Shops will have priority, then external works, then internal works to the fabric of the building.

Businesses within eligible locations were previously able to apply for up to £25,000 in grant funding to improve the exterior location of their properties.

A council report on the first year of the scheme states: "Over the course of the scheme, 46 businesses successfully secured funding to make improvements to the premises. Improvements included complete paint refresh of exterior of premises, new windows and shop frontages, improved accessibility for premises, new signage, new lighting to improve visibility, especially at night, new awning, new doors, new carpets internally and some internal refreshment.

"All works were carried out by legitimate local suppliers, who worked with the clients to supply quotes, carry out the work and then invoice for payment to be made.

"Feedback from clients that have undertaken the process has been positive with many stating that the projects would not have been undertaken without the grant funding.

"Not only has the exterior work made the premises look better, new doors, windows and shop frontages have helped to make premises warmer and more economical. Businesses that have carried out internal remodelling have reported that it has made them more attractive to customers."

Prestige Printers in Swinton received a grant in the first wave. They said: “We now look like a modern up to date business, a more inviting and aesthetically pleasing place to enter. We believe our customers both new and old will be with us long into the future. An updated business on the High Street, whereas before we had an outdated, uninviting frontage which gave the impression of us not caring about the business or our customers which was simply not true. We are now ready for the modern age and are very pleased with the finished result."

In addition to the grants, Rotherham Council is recruiting three new High Street Business Advisers, who will work directly with traders in Rotherham town centre and the borough’s principal town centres.

Images: Commercial Property Rotherham

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News: Clothing retailer revamps Rotherham store

Asda has selected Rotherham as the latest location for a new standalone George concept store.

The new format features expanded ranges, a contemporary layout, improved services, and reflects Asda’s strategy to transition its Asda Living estate into George destinations.

At Cortonwood Retail Park, which is in Rotherham, a special opening event was held last month for the new store which has been created in the Asda Living unit.

Asda is accelerating plans to open ten standalone George concept stores this year, as the retailer continues its plans to replace its Asda Living brand portfolio across the UK.

The move follows the strong performance of the first two stand-alone George stores, which opened in Leeds and Hull in 2025 and delivered an overwhelmingly positive customer response.

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A spokesperson from Asda said: "The transformation reflects Asda’s continued investment in creating inspiring, easy-to-shop environments that celebrate its hero non-food categories. From everyday wardrobe essentials to trend-led seasonal pieces and contemporary home interiors, the new concept store aims to deliver quality, style and value synonymous with the George brand."

Customers can expect a significantly expanded clothing offer across womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, alongside a broader George Home range featuring an even wider selection of interiors and lifestyle products. Shoppers will also be able to discover the latest fashion launches, including the Yasmin Le Bon and Amber Le Bon collections and Stacey Solomon’s exclusive George Home ranges.

George is the UK's third-largest clothing retailer by volume and the country's largest childrenswear retailer, serving millions of customers through 580 Asda stores and six standalone George stores. The brand also has ambitious growth plans, including opening 100 standalone locations in the next five years.

The retailer also operates from a standalone Asda Living store at Parkgate in Rotherham. No date has been given for a transition to George.

Asda website

Images: Asda

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News: Peel Group makes £583m offer for Harworth Group

One of the leading infrastructure, transport and real estate investors in the UK, The Peel Group, has made a cash offer worth £582.88m for Rotherham-based Harworth Group plc, a leading regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment.

The offer is expected to result in "a significant headcount reduction."

Created from what was UK Coal, Harworth Group owns, develops, and manages a portfolio of over 15,000 acres of strategic land over 100 sites located throughout the North of England and Midlands. With a focus on Grade A industrial and logistics (I&L) space and emerging opportunities in the data centre market, the company has a target of £1bn of EPRA NDV - EPRA NDV is how Harworth measures the value of the its assets.

Manchester's The Peel Group is a long-term investor in Harworth, having held various ownership interests in Harworth over a number of years. The Peel Holdings directors believe that Harworth's assets would be best owned, managed and developed under the full control of Peel Holdings.

In its announcement, Peel said that it feels that Harworth's administrative expenses and net interest expenses are too high and increasing, whilst the investment portfolio's passing rental income has decreased. It adds that it expects the EPRA NDV for the first hald of 2026 to be below 31 December 2025 levels following years of increases, and that the NDV target growth rate towards a £1bn valuation is "highly unlikely to be achieved."

The announcement added: "BidCo [Peel] considers Harworth's direct development and hold strategy to be capital-intensive, slow to deliver value and increasingly unable to generate appropriate risk-adjusted returns. As a result, BidCo believes the business should pivot toward strategic land activities and selective development, a model that has a lower cost base and is more effectively executed within a private-company structure."

The largest three shareholders own approximately 75.7% of Harworth's share capital and are being offered a significant premium of 36.9%. to the volume-weighted average share price over the last one-month period.

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Peel would de-list the business from the stock exchange and on jobs, the announcement said: "Following the Offer becoming or being declared unconditional, BidCo expects to review overlapping functions across the Harworth Group, including senior management, corporate, operational, finance, human resources, compliance and other support functions.

"Based on BidCo's preliminary assessment, the Offer is expected to result in a significant headcount reduction and synergies from overlapping functions and the elimination of costs associated with Harworth's status as a listed company. BidCo has not yet determined the number of roles likely to be affected, the timing of any reductions or the specific functions or locations in which any reductions may occur and will provide further information to affected employees in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements."

Harwoth only moved to purpose-built offices at its flagship Waverley development earlier this year. Peel said that it "has not yet determined whether any changes will be made to the location of Harworth's headquarters or headquarters functions, or to the locations of Harworth's other fixed places of business." Any changes will be considered as part of a review into Harworth's assets.

Peel said that it would review Harworth's fixed asset base, including its strategic land bank and investment portfolio, and then intends to accelerate the disposal of selected assets.

Recovery plans for Doncaster-based UK Coal were put in place in May 2011 when the group reported a £124.6m loss and had a £450m pension deficit. The subsequent restructure in 2012 saw the new company, Coalfield Resources, focus on targeting the realisation of its property assets through the Harworth Estates Property Group Limited. Harworth Estates was completely acquired by Coalfield Resources in 2014.

Harworth Group plc grew to be listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.

The developer behind MediaCity in Salford and the Trafford Centre, The Peel Group has a chequered history in South Yorkshire, namely through the purchase and subsequent closure of the region's airports.

Harworth Group website
The Peel Group website

Images: Sotech Architectural Facade Systems

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News: 180,000 sq ft pre-let at AMP in Rotherham

A deal has been struck for a new 180,000 sq ft unit at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham - if approved, it will be the largest unit on what is one of the UK’s leading destinations for advanced manufacturing.

Landowner and master developer, Harworth Group, confirmed the pre-let in its latest trading update.

In its Half Year Trading Update, the leading regeneration, strategic land and development business that has its new HQ alongside the AMP at Waverley in Rotherham, discussed new opportunities for data centres and advanced manufacturing.

Its highlights for the six months to June 30 2026 included deals that have been completed or in legals on three pre-lets for units to be built by Harworth and held in its investment portfolio and are expected to generate £3.7m of rental income a year.

At Gateway 36 in Barnsley, a deal has been signed with for a 30,700 sq ft unit for a logistics operator's new last-mile parcel and postal distribution facility.

A 108,600 sq ft advanced manufacturing facility for an automative parts designer will be built at Chatterley Park, Staffordshire - the first at the development.

And at the AMP, the new 180,000 sq ft unit is for an existing occupier.

Planning documents, seen by Rothbiz, show that Harworth intends to reconfigure a new Plot 1 at the AMP to combine the space granted outline approval for units 1, 6 and 7. An earthworks application would be required before a full planning application for the large unit that would sit between SBD Apparel and Insight Direct.

Overall, with recent deals for Technicut, Vulcan Seals and Danieli, Harworth only has around 200,000 sq ft of the total 2.1 million sq ft of consented development space remaining at the AMP. A completion of the park is expected in 2027.

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Harworth also said that it was progressing a total of 1.5m sq ft of letting and land sale negotiations across the portfolio. Following on from Harworth's first hyperscale data centre transaction, a £106.6m land sale to Microsoft in 2024, the group has identified a second site in its current portfolio.

Due to the scale and strength of opportunities across its industrial & logistics and powered land pipeline, with growing occupier interest, Harworth is now accelerating its reallocation of capital to higher returning opportunities aligned to powered land and industrial growth sectors.

Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive of Harworth, said: "Harworth specialises in unlocking land at scale, with planning and power secured, and this is key to capturing high-returning development opportunities across the data centre and advanced manufacturing sectors. Our second data centre opportunity that we are highlighting today underlines Harworth's position as one of the most significant regional players in the rollout of the UK's digital infrastructure, working with some of the largest operators in the industry.

"In addition to these opportunities, we have seen strong momentum across our sales and lettings pipeline during the first half and into the second, including the first letting at our 1.1m sq ft Chatterley Park site, to an advanced manufacturer, and a further letting to a national logistics operator at our well-established Gateway 36 development.

"With our unique skillset, extensive land bank and 0.8GW of power connections across our portfolio either conditionally secured or in the pipeline, we are well positioned to accelerate our reallocation of capital to powered land and industrial growth sectors. This in turn will create a simpler, higher-returning platform to deliver sustainable future growth."

Harworth Group website

Images: Harworth

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