Hi Simon. How are you? 

 

I'm good, thank you very much. How are you? 

 

I'm very good, thank you. I wanted to ask you a little bit about your first year at Muse; your direction and the way in which you are shaping the firm as it goes forward. How has it been, and what is the vision? 

 

It's been fantastic. I mean, the year has gone incredibly fast. That said, I think we've done a lot. We've had a huge reset and repositioning, if you like, of our business and reset as a team. There's a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. I've come in and got to know the team who are highly capable; a very energised group of people with a nice diversity of talent. So, all going very well. 

In terms of the objective, if you like, of the reset, it's really about Muse in the south of the UK has been cracking on doing some big schemes, which we can touch on. It's well known, especially in the north west, around Manchester and Salford, where they've delivered, at scale, really complicated, outstanding urban regeneration, around Salford and other parts. And it's really about raising the profile of our southern business, which has similar capabilities. 

We were coming to the end of some of those major projects, like Lewisham Gateway, which is a big urban regeneration project we've been on for almost 20 years. That's a very Muse approach. It's long-term, in partnership with the council and various others; very complicated – diverting rivers and roads and roundabouts to create a new urban centre, as well as some significant housing schemes for affordable homes in Canning Town and in Bow. So those are all coming through to completion, and it was really about, what next? Where do we go next? And that's very much that the thinking that I'm bringing in terms of resetting the portfolio. 

 

…Which is consistent with some on-the-record comments I noted in my research about you, where you said you wanted to grow the regional business by 50% over the next three years. Where precisely are you looking, that you can talk about? 

 

Yes - I mean, it might sound significant, but it's very achievable for us, and that's why I'm very excited about it. The geography I have in the south is pretty large - it's from Norfolk across to South Wales, right down to Plymouth, across the south coast, out to Kent and Essex, and then sweeping in London into all of that. So, it's a large area, and I would be very happy to talk through some of the specific active schemes we've got there, and others where we've just very recently been appointed. Some major regen schemes, which is really exciting. 

 

David Taylor 

Shall we start in Bristol? What's the scheme in Bristol all about? 

Delighted to start in Bristol. I was down there this week. We've recently been selected as the preferred master developer for Bristol Temple Quarter, which is an enormous regeneration of the heart of Bristol, for those who know it. I was recently meeting with the leader of the council, and he was probably obviously and rightly slightly biassed, but we were saying, you very rarely meet people who say they don't like Bristol. It's just got that heart to it, and that wonderful personality. And so, we're absolutely delighted to have been selected. We've been through a very rigorous, intense process of procurement, and we've been selected as the master developer for that. That'll run 10, 15, 20 years, and will transform Bristol - from when you arrive at Bristol Temple Meads station. 

 

David Taylor 

I'm calling you from Brighton today, and Brighton has this very similar characteristic, on that front, that very rarely do people say they 

 

I live in Brighton! 

 

Oh,do you? (laughs) How peculiar! We could have met face to face! But people say the same thing about Brighton, don't they, as you just mentioned, with Bristol. And it's not just the ‘B’, ‘R’, ‘I’ start to their very names! What is it about the two places, do you think? The character of the places that people draw affection to? 

 

They're unique. And, you know, they have a personality and a soul, absolutely like Brighton and woe betide anybody who wants to try and change that, or make it corporate, or make it like any other high street type of feel, for instance. We keep using this term 'Bristolness' and it's very similar to Brighton, in that you've got to celebrate that and bring people with you. I live here, and actually, the chief executive of Bristol Temple Quarter also lives in Brighton, which is quite funny. There is an element of respect and understanding around that and that sense of special place. 

You know, it's really important in building on it. And whilst Bristol has that, it definitely needs some help in terms of investment and re-energising, especially its arrival point into the city, which is looking a bit sorry for itself, and key links through to the various waterways and canals and wharves. So, there's a lot to be done. Development everywhere is challenging. It's going to be complicated, but there's a very clear set of deliverables, as well as a large masterplan for St Philip's Marsh behind the station, which, again, is a 10/20-year project. So that's fantastic for us. That's exactly the sort of space that Muse operates really well in. Long-term view, strong partnerships with local authorities - we've been in the English Cities Fund partnership with Homes England and Legal and General, for over 20 years. 

 

So, a lot of people are now talking about partnerships. It always makes me smile. Five years ago, everyone was talking about placemaking, and it became the big thing. Now, everybody's talking about partnerships. We have genuinely been doing it for decades, and it's the way forward. It's the only way we're going to unlock difficult urban regen development in this market, where, as we all know, costs and inflation are soaring; land values aren't. It's a problem that's going to need others to help support. There's going to need to be grant funding, pragmatic approaches. And I think it's building that trust that's so important between public and private sector, to do things together. And that's our track record, really. 

 

And you're working in Slough as well, aren't you? 

 

Yes, another one, another, unloved by name, but incredible strategic position, especially with the Elizabeth Line, and, of course, Heathrow, and an incredible road network as well. You're literally minutes into Paddington. The opportunity's there for the regeneration. We've got a site right in the centre, five minutes’ walk from the station, which will be a large, mixed use, commercial and residential regeneration scheme over a good number of years, which we're putting in for planning, hopefully in April this year. So really getting motoring on that. We have got a very good relationship with Slough Borough Council; again, strong inputs and partnering with Homes England to help deliver this. 

 

David Taylor 

Is this working with Pat Hayes and his team? 

 

Absolutely. Pat is a good friend of Muse, and ‘gets’ regeneration. So, we're very, very pleased to be working with him and his team. We've been in Slough for a while, doing various developments. But this is the big one we've been waiting for. Delighted to see the likes of Berkeley coming in to Slough as well, regenerating the retail section. So yes, keep an eye on Slough! It's going to be coming through a huge transformation. It’s very exciting! 

 

Last question: I ask this of a lot of people, to give some sort of barometer of how it is out there in terms of toughness of the market. What's your perception? Some are giving an optimistic look for the rest of this year, recently. What's your view? 

 

Yes, I mean, I'm a very glass-half-full type person, and I think it's very easy for us to wallow around in viability, and this and that, ‘It's never going to happen, and we can't do it’. It's just not true. You know, we are delivering. We're delivering across the country, and it's just about finding solutions and problem-solving. You can't do it on your own. So, it's having genuine, trusted relationships with partners who can help bring projects forward with you, and both understanding that there has to be some flexibility around certain things that in other markets might not be ideal, but we're delivering 100% affordable homes schemes as well as full mixed-use schemes. It's all possible, and steps like, for instance, the GLA and their emergency measures, that's incredibly helpful, and that's a step change, seeing the GLA recognise they have to do something to help this happen. It's not just developers saying, 'Oh no, we need to make more profit. Nothing will happen unless we unlock this'. So, I really welcome the GLA position on that. That hopefully will really help. A lot of our sites are pretty much ready to get spades in the ground. So, I think this will really help ignite things. So: very optimistic, genuinely, that this will be a busy year and we'll get cracking. 

 

Well, congratulations on all that. Good luck with it all. Just one very final question on the upcoming MIPIM – I presume you're going to be banging the drum to further reinforce the 'reset' in terms of people's perception of Muse, are you? In terms of it being much more of a national developer? 

 

Very much so. And you know, we've got live projects now in Plymouth and Bournemouth, Stevenage, as well as Slough, as you mentioned, and, of course, Bristol. So, it's looking at specific things that are happening. It's not just pipe dreams. I think it's making people aware, and as you say, building on the optimism, because we can all wallow around in it, but there's some really positive things coming through. 

 

Great! Thanks for your time. 

 

Thank you!