Muse schemes contributing millions to parent firm’s coffers
The activities of urban regeneration and property firm Muse Developments across the North West have boosted the performance of its parent company Morgan Sindall Group for the year ended December 31.
The group’s adjusted operating profit was up 26% to £48.8m (FY 2015: £38.8m) on revenues of £2.56bn which rose 7% on the previous year (FY 2015: £2.385bn).
Reported operating profit for the year was £47.4m (FY 2015: £10.3m loss).
The group finished the year with a significantly improved net cash position of £209m (FY 2015: £58m).
Adjusted earnings per share were up 34% on last year at 84.7p (FY 2015: 63p). The dividend for the year is 35p, a 21% increase from 2015’s 29p per share. The group’s order book was also up 29% to £3.6bn.
Muse, which has offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds, performed well in 2016 with £380m of construction across 19 projects. The company also maintained a healthy order book and development pipeline, which now stands at £2.4bn.
Key projects by Manchester and the North West in 2016 included the landmark Mackie Mayor building on Swan Street and a deal was agreed with Market Operations to lease it and complete its transformation at the Smithfield regeneration scheme. The Grade II-listed building is the only building which remains intact from the former Smithfield market.
Muse, in partnership with Network Rail, also secured planning permission for its new Victoria scheme, a £185m mixed-use development next to Victoria Station on Corporation Street, which is currently a surface level car park.
Another is the completion of One New Bailey in Salford, a 125,000sq ft office development and in Stockport, the second phase of the town centre’s £145m new gateway development, Stockport Exchange.
Muse is delivering the scheme next to the train station with Stockport Council. The phase includes a 115-bed Holiday Inn Express and a 50,000 sq ft, five-storey office development with a Sainsbury’s Local on the ground floor, and a new public area and road improvements.
Stockport Exchange is a flagship office development for the town that will see a new commercial district and commuter hub created in the heart of the Stockport.
In Warrington work has started on the £107m Time Square development, previously known as Bridge Street Quarter, in Warrington town centre.
Cineworld will be the principal tenant of the 300,000sq ft retail and leisure-led scheme which will provide Warrington with a state-of-the-art, 13-screen, 2,500 seat, multiplex cinema. The project will also see the development of a 42,000sq ft market hall, family friendly restaurants, new council offices, retail units and a new public square. Planning permission was also granted for a multi-storey car park which is under construction along with new highway works.
Other schemes are as follows:
• Chester: Muse completed One City Place, a six-storey Grade A office building next to Chester Railway Station. The new 70,000sq ft office development is the cornerstone of the central business district and the first of seven office buildings in the new £100m Central Business Quarter which will provide accommodation for an estimated 3,500 jobs by 2028. National commercial law firm, Excello Law, is one of several new tenants which has taken office space at the Grade A, BREEAM ‘Excellent’-rated scheme.
• Blackpool: Work is progressing on the design and planning application for a new town centre hotel, which is proposed to form the second phase of Muse’s Talbot Gateway scheme in Blackpool.
• Crewe: Plans for a mixed-use scheme, incorporating both residential and commercial development, are being progressed for a 70-acre site at Basford East in Crewe where outline planning permission is already in place.
• Colwyn Bay: A deal has been agreed with M&G Investments to forward fund a new c 100,000 sq ft civic office in Colwyn Bay town centre for Conwy Council. Demolition of existing buildings is now underway, with construction due to commence in spring this year.
Mike Horner, regional director for the North West at Muse Developments, said: “2016 was another successful year of working closely with our partners regenerating town centres and creating vibrant, sustainable new places for local communities through residential, commercial and leisure development.
“In Stockport we completed phase two at Stockport Exchange including a new 50,000 sq ft office building and 115 bedroom hotel. In Salford we are on site constructing two residential apartment blocks at New Bailey which will provide 225 riverside apartments. Planning permission was also secured for the 185,000sq ft Two New Bailey Square in Salford and our major mixed-use scheme at New Victoria in Manchester city centre.
“In Chester, a string of lettings have been secured for One City Place and construction is well advanced in Warrington on our Time Square leisure scheme which will include a new 13 screen cinema. In Colwyn Bay, North Wales, work started on site delivering a new 100,000 sq ft civic office when funding was secured from M&G.
“We are one of the most active developers across the North West and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with Local Authorities and land owners across the North West to unlock further major regeneration opportunities.”
