Muse + Lovell: Working in partnership to deliver complex regeneration

In conversation with Maggie Grogan, Managing Director – Midlands at Muse, and Stuart Penn, Regional Managing Director for the Midlands at Lovell.

Lovell, the national housebuilder, and Muse, the nationwide placemaker, are working in partnership to deliver complex regeneration – backed by the combined strength of the Morgan Sindall Group.

Through joint working, public sector partners will be able to draw on the complimentary skill set of Lovell and Muse to meet the bespoke challenges of any regeneration opportunity.

The partners are already working together in Stockton-on-Tees and West Sussex and are now focussing on opportunities the Midlands – building on the experience of both Lovell and Muse across the region – with the potential to work right across the country.

We spoke to Stuart Penn, Regional Managing Director for the Midlands at Lovell and Maggie Grogan, Managing Director – Midlands at Muse, to find out more.

‘Local authorities have a range of needs when it comes to regeneration’, explains Stuart, ‘no opportunity is the same and a bespoke approach is needed every time.

According to Maggie, it’s the partnership’s ability to leverage these complimentary skills to shape places, across multiple locations which makes it attractive.

‘Many local authorities, whether in the Midlands or further afield, have a mix of regeneration and investment needs. This often includes town centre regeneration, as well as lower density residential, or social housing programmes.

‘By bringing together Muse’s experience of mixed-use regeneration and placemaking and Lovell’s ability to deliver multi-tenure, multi-generational, family homes – as well as refurbishment or decarbonisation – we can put the needs of communities first and curate the best possible solution. No other business has this range of skills and abilities.

‘We can create unique cross-subsidy models by grouping larger portfolios of opportunities and enabling those with greater viability to subsidise less viable locations.’

The ability to take a long-term partnership approach, explains Stuart, should also be an attractive proposition.

‘There are few in the market who have the ability or appetite to take a long-term partnership approach to place. The reason our model works so well is that Muse and Lovell share the same values – we work together with the public sector over the long-term with a serious commitment to delivery.

‘Both businesses have a strong track record of delivery in partnership and have demonstrated a commitment to quality placemaking and social value by working alongside communities. We both have deep relationships in the areas in which we work.

‘The covenant strength and balance sheet of Morgan Sindall Group, of which we are both a part, gives further confidence in our ability to deliver over the long-term.

‘The wider strength of the Morgan Sindall Group gives us additional scope to add value over time,’ adds Maggie, ‘other parts of the Group, from construction, infrastructure to fit-out can collaborate with us depending on the bespoke needs of our partners.

‘We are already having some exciting conversations with local authorities who can see the potential our partnership approach can bring. We have a bold vision, ambition, and the resources to deliver. There is a lot more to come.’