The firm involved in the vast redevelopment of Plymouth’s Millbay docks area has contributed to its parent company’s record results and £131.3m profit.
Urban regenerator and property development company Muse Developments has played a key part in the success of Morgan Sindall Group Plc, the construction and regeneration group which has a Plymouth office at Marsh Mills and is also involved in major construction projects in the South West.
Muse is currently involved in the £160m Millbay redevelopment and in Bristol has been working on the Wapping Wharf scheme, creating 256 homes within two blocks of apartments. The schemes are among more than 40 major mixed-use, multi-phase regeneration schemes it is working on across the UK.
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It is part of Morgan Sindall where group revenue rose 6%, delivering an adjusted operating profit of £131.3m, up from 2020’s £68.5m. The full-year results for 2021 show revenue of £3.2bn, a jump from 2020’s £3bn. The group reported a secured order book of £8.6bn, up 4% on the year end.
With a strong balance sheet and net cash of £358m, an increase on 2020’s £333m, the group said it is confident of achieving another good year in 2022.
Morgan Sindall was chosen in 2021 to build the £19m extension at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, and completed the £2.4m South West Institute of Technology computer science building at the University of Exeter, and the £5m George Parker Bidder STEMM business centre at Exeter Science Park.
Muse - which has offices in London, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow - is a key partner in the regeneration of Millbay, into a mix of residential, leisure, business and civic development, with public spaces and waterfront access.
It is masterminded by The English Cities Fund - a joint venture between Muse, Legal & General and Homes England. So far it has delivered 400 new homes, new businesses, the Millbay Academy, the 171-berth King Point Marina and the Dock Restaurant. Planning approval is in place for the next phase of development – 58 apartments, a 126-bedroom hotel and restaurants overlooking the inner harbour.
Muse hit key milestones on a number of schemes during 2021, with 15 projects on site, with a gross development value of £980m and a further 17 projects expected to start on site in 2022. Muse’s order book and forward development pipeline now stands at £2.6bn, an increase of £200m on the prior year end.
During 2021, 11 Muse projects reached practical completion including HMRC’s 157,000sq ft regional hub, Three New Bailey at Salford Central, and Eli Lilly’s 45,000sq ft headquarters at Basing View, Basingstoke.
Residential developments completed included 249 homes and a bridge over the River Lee Navigation, in Tottenham; 167 apartments and 44 townhouses at Salford Central and 256 mixed-tenure homes at Wapping Wharf, in Bristol.
Construction started on commercial projects including the 115,000sq ft “net zero in operation” office development, Eden, a 175,000sq ft northern headquarters for BT - both in Salford - and two offices totalling 150,000sq ft in Birkenhead.
Residential developments to start include 106 mixed-tenure homes at Islington Wharf, in Manchester, and 355 homes at Manor Road Quarter, Canning Town.
Hotel schemes also progressed, with construction commencing on a Holiday Inn at Talbot Gateway, in Blackpool, and a double-decker Moxy Hotel and Residence Inn completing in Slough.
Activity in Muse’s industrial and logistics portfolio remained strong, with construction continuing on the final two units, totalling 104,000sq ft, at its Logic Leeds scheme.
The company continued to secure new business, including being appointed by West Sussex County Council as its preferred development partner for Horsham Enterprise Park.
Matt Crompton, managing director at Muse, said: “With well-documented challenges on-going in 2021, our colleagues have risen to the challenge once again, continuing to work collaboratively with our partners to deliver place-changing regeneration.
“We remain in a strong position and continue to grow, with a broad range of developments across the UK in a variety of sectors and an extremely healthy forward pipeline. Our key focus continues to be, working with our partners to repurpose under-utilised urban areas to create sustainable, diverse and vibrant places driving economic growth, investment and opportunities for local communities.”
