The construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall has said that multi-million pound projects being built by its subsidiary, Muse Developments, are a “major contributor” to the company’s better than expected half year results.
Morgan Sindall Group — which operates through five divisions of construction and infrastructure, fit-out, affordable housing, urban regeneration and investments — reported a six per cent fall in its operating profits for the first six months of 2014 at £15.2m. Revenue fell two per cent to £998m.
Delivered against what it described as “a continued backdrop of challenging market conditions”, the group said it now had an order book of £2.7bn, up 14 per cent on the previous year end. The Leeds-based firm also disclosed a pipeline of £3.2bn worth of regeneration schemes, a five per cent increase on last year’s figure of £3.0bn, and much of thanks to its urban regeneration offshoot.
Muse Developments is currently working on the construction of an office building at Sovereign Square, Leeds. The 60,000sq ft scheme is the first of three buildings that will surround a new green public area on the site of the city’s former Queens Hall. The KPMG development is slated for completion this autumn.
In Doncaster, Muse is preparing a number of unused sites and demolishing buildings before starting work on the next stage of the town’s £300m Civic and Cultural Quarter. Phase one of the £300m development, which includes new civic offices, an 850-space multi-storey car park, a new performance venue and a public square, is nearing completion.
Partnered by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Morgan Sindall’s specialist housing provider, Lovell, is also about to start work on 54 new energy-efficient homes, the first high-quality modern houses to be built in the town centre for decades.
Commenting after the publication of the parent company’s results, Muse’s regional director for Yorkshire and the North East Dan Needham, said: “We are definitely starting to see a real growth in confidence and we’ve been working very hard over the past few years to make sure we’re in a position to take advantage of this.
“It’s been a successful year for us so far, with development agreements signed with Rolls-Royce in Hucknall and with the local authority in South Shields, plus major projects underway in Leeds, Doncaster and Stockton-on-Tees.
“We’ll continue to work hard to deliver results for our partners and pursue new opportunities across the region,” he added.
