Morgan Sindall hails another record year

Group revenue increased by 10% to £4.5bn, while pre-tax profit climbed by 19% to £172.5m, with strong contributions coming from across the business.

Development arm Muse grew its development pipeline to £4.1bn, a hike from £1.8bn in 2023, following a year in which it was named delivery and investment partner for the regeneration of Wythenshawe Civic, a £500m regeneration programme with Manchester City Council.

Muse also delivered the flagship Eden workplace at Salford Central, and the 96-home Greenhaus scheme in Salford. A 144-bed hotel and Marco Pierre White restaurant was delivered at Talbot Gateway in Blackpool.

Both the Crescent Salford and Salford Central developments remain in train, along with the civil service hub at Talbot Gateway.

Planning consents have been secured for a business park at Weston M6 and the next part of Stockport Exchange, along with development at Prestwich Village and Earlestown in St Helens.

Following the expansion of the ECF joint venture with Homes England and L&G, to £400m, Muse has continued to build on its partnership approach, announcing Habiko in November, a partnership with Pension Insurance Corporation and Homes England that will look to speed up delivery of sustainable and affordable homes across the country.

Almost all key divisions contributed to MS’s healthy bottom line. The Lovell partnership housing division saw revenue climb 3% to £861m and operating profit increase by 18% to £36.1m.

Fit-out arm Overbury was a star performer, with revenue reaching £1.3bn and operating profit up by 38% to £99m. The construction business reported revenue up by 8% to just over £1bn, with operating profit up by 19% to £30.9m.

The only loss-maker was property services, which saw losses of £17.8m impacted by exit costs from a number of schemes. The division is expected to return to profit this year.

Phil Marsden, managing director North West at Muse, said: “During 2024, we have invested in our expert team at every level – growing our capability and capacity to deliver. This includes continuing to expand the impact of the Muse Academy, which is rapidly supporting a pipeline of talent into our business.

“As well as completing some of our region’s most exciting and impactful regeneration, we’ve progressed a pipeline of placemaking opportunities. Across the length and breadth of the North West we’ve delivered six planning consents for major new opportunities.”

Group-wide the balance sheet remains strong with net cash of £492m, with a secured order book of £11.4bn, up 28% on the prior year. This, said the group, leaves it well-positioned for the future and on track to deliver an outcome for 2025 in line with its current expectations.