Stewart Milne Group

Stewart Milne Group divests timber systems business to invest in growing housebuilding in Scotland and North-west England

Stewart Milne Group is selling its market leading timber systems business to focus on investing in the growth of Stewart Milne Homes across Scotland and North-west England. The independent housebuilder and manufacturer of timberframe for offsite construction is capitalising on Stewart Milne Timber Systems’ (SMTS) position as the recognised UK

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LEADING NAMES ANNOUNCED AS SPEAKERS FOR CE HOUSING SUMMIT

LEADING NAMES ANNOUNCED AS SPEAKERS FOR CE HOUSING SUMMIT REPRESENTATIVES from some of the housing industry’s biggest names have been announced as speakers at one of the Midlands’ leading construction events. Speakers from Cundall, Barratt Developments, Stewart Milne Group and the Welsh government will present at June’s CE Midlands Housing

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Simon Dudley new chair of leading MMC project AIMCH

The Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes (AIMCH) project is delighted to welcome Simon Dudley, Interim Chair of Homes England, as Chair of the AIMCH Stakeholder Group. The stakeholder group provides vital two way engagement to disseminate project learnings and outcomes with industry stakeholder organisations. The project aims

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

Stewart Milne Group

Stewart Milne Group divests timber systems business to invest in growing housebuilding in Scotland and North-west England

Stewart Milne Group is selling its market leading timber systems business to focus on investing in the growth of Stewart Milne Homes across Scotland and North-west England. The independent housebuilder and manufacturer of timberframe for offsite construction is capitalising on Stewart Milne Timber Systems’ (SMTS) position as the recognised UK market leader by putting the business up for sale at a time when the market is set to grow exponentially. Demand for timberframe has been rising rapidly and its use is anticipated to double in the next five years to meet government housing targets. As housebuilders tackle the dual challenge of achieving net-zero carbon targets and dealing with acute skills shortages, they are increasingly turning to modern methods of construction using renewable sources. Stewart Milne Timber Systems has experienced “stellar” growth in the last five years with a current order book of close to £300million. This growth is attributed to a combination of technical and manufacturing excellence with strong customer relationships with the UK’s leading housebuilders, including Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and CALA. The £100m turnover business, which employs 400 people, has become the undisputed market leader with around 20% of market share. Alex Goodfellow, Stewart Milne Group Managing Director – Strategic Development, who is leading the sale process, said: “With the scale of the opportunity in the growing timber frame market, SMTS presents a highly compelling investment proposition. We anticipate attracting a high level of interest from potential buyers who will invest in order to capitalise on that opportunity.” Stewart Milne Group has been investing in SMTS’ product and manufacturing innovation and capacity at its factories in Aberdeen and Witney to keep up with the extremely strong demand. Increased volumes have led to the creation of a third production facility in central Scotland. Stewart Milne Group’s CEO, Stuart MacGregor, added: “To keep pace with demand, it’s clear that further investment in production capacity in both Scotland and England will be required. As a privately run, independent company, we need to prioritise where we invest in the future. “Since reopening last summer, after the initial COVID lockdown, we’ve seen record levels of activity in the UK housing sector. The strength of our business with its award-winning developments, new homes range and record sales has enabled us to capitalise on these favourable market conditions and positioned us superbly for future growth.” The buoyancy of the current homes market, however, does mean that land prices in Scotland and North West England are increasing rapidly says Mr MacGregor.  “We have therefore chosen to divest our successful timber systems business to increase investment in additional sites for Stewart Milne Homes. Using our considerable land buying experience to take advantage of the development opportunities, we will invest in land in the short term and concentrate on growing our homes business in the longer term.” Once a sale has completed, Stewart Milne Group will be primarily focused on investing in the growth of its homes business in Scotland and North West England, reinforcing its reputation as one of the country’s leading independent housebuilders.

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LEADING NAMES ANNOUNCED AS SPEAKERS FOR CE HOUSING SUMMIT

LEADING NAMES ANNOUNCED AS SPEAKERS FOR CE HOUSING SUMMIT REPRESENTATIVES from some of the housing industry’s biggest names have been announced as speakers at one of the Midlands’ leading construction events. Speakers from Cundall, Barratt Developments, Stewart Milne Group and the Welsh government will present at June’s CE Midlands Housing Summit, organised by Constructing Excellence Midlands and sponsored by Shakespeare Martineau. The summit’s keynote presentation will be delivered by Colette McCann, Birmingham City Council’s acting assistant director of housing development, who will detail the city’s 2040 plan for affordable housing, as well as introducing how attendees can get themselves involved in the programme. Also leading the lineup is Cundall’s Richard Twinn, who will detail how Future Homes Standards will affect those involved in the provision of housing going forward. The event – which takes place virtually on Wednesday, June 23 – gives attendees chance to get further insight into some of the key issues facing the industry, such as the Future Homes Standard, carbon net zero and the growing role of modern methods of construction and modular homes. Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of Constructing Excellence Midlands, said: “We’re delighted to have secured such a stellar lineup for this year’s Housing Summit, which promises to provide a real insight into how both the public and private sector are working to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. Constructing Excellence Midlands is working in partnership with Birmingham City Council in helping them achieve their ambitious housing targets. Colette McCann, acting assistant director of housing development at Birmingham City Council said: “CE Midlands provides a unique opportunity and platform that brings together a wide range of members within the construction industry. “I am very much looking forward to attending the CE Midlands Housing Summit to discuss innovative ideas and solutions to the challenges our sector faces, particularly in the delivery of affordable housing.” Andrew Carpenter continued: “As we come out of the other side of the pandemic, housing has to be one of the critical areas of the construction industry. With house prices continuing to rise, affordable, sustainable housing is coming to the fore more than ever before, and we have pulled together a speaker lineup that reflects this.” To register to attend the CE Midlands Housing Summit, click here

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Simon Dudley new chair of leading MMC project AIMCH

The Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes (AIMCH) project is delighted to welcome Simon Dudley, Interim Chair of Homes England, as Chair of the AIMCH Stakeholder Group. The stakeholder group provides vital two way engagement to disseminate project learnings and outcomes with industry stakeholder organisations. The project aims to tackle the UK housing crisis by using cost effective MMC delivered using industrialised offsite panelised solutions. Dudley brings a wealth of experience to the role having been involved in major construction projects, including those as part of Maidenhead Borough’s regeneration during his three and a half year tenure as borough leader. Simon Dudley, new chair of the AIMCH Stakeholder Group, said: “I’m delighted to join as chair of the AIMCH project.  The stakeholder group draws together key interests and views, to share learning and concerns, providing a collective approach and wider market impact to drive the uptake of MMC systems. “AIMCH is forward thinking and committed to delivering high quality cost effective housing. The AIMCH project will have an even greater role to play as the construction sector resets from Covid-19.  The clear benefits from Modern Methods of Construction will address the challenges faced in a post-pandemic economy made more complex with Brexit and net zero carbon goals. Industrialised offsite panelised solutions will act as a catalyst for a step change in the industry. Capturing all these benefits through this project are key insights for industry going forward.” The three-year AIMCH project, which has been live since early 2019, has been trialling new digital design tools, manufacturing advancements, improved near-to-market offsite systems and lean site processes on live housing projects over the past 18 months.  The ultimate goal of the project is to support the sector by delivering the 120,000 target for the same or less cost than traditional methods, are built 30% quicker and have 50% less defects. The project has potential to impact on 35,000 homes being delivered by AIMCH partners across the UK, each year.

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Stewart Milne Group Encourge More Action to Deliver Faster Internet Connections to Scotland

The Director of Special Projects for Stewart Milne Group, Jim Fitzsimons has added his voice to the chorus calling for property developers to have more of an input in improving Scotland’s woefully inadequate digital infrastructure. It has been agreed by many, including Jim Fitzsimons that the improvement of digital infrastructure in Scotland is essential to the success of the Scottish economy. There are still too many areas of Scotland that, at the moment, have a strongly inadequate connection to broadband, with both local and national government initiatives not working to address the main problems behind this lack of connectivity quickly enough. Stewart Milne Group is one of the UK’s leading independent home builders and timber system manufacturing companies. The company has been working on a project bring forward the larges new “town” in Aberdeen, Countesswells. Ultrafast broadband has been installed in this area and it is thought that the work carried out here should be replicated by other developers on projects across Scotland and should be an essential part of the considerations when planning a new housing or mixed-use developments. The new £800 million community located to the west of Aberdeen will have access to broadband speeds that are measured at 35 times faster than the UK average. It is thought that this connectivity improvement is a first for a new town development. The independent home building company installed the fibre optic network necessary to deliver such significantly higher speeds while also fitting other groundworks services such as gas and drainage. It should be par for the course across all developments, in Scotland and beyond that the most up to date internet services are installed alongside other essential services. The improvement of connectivity will make new housing developments more appealing, and help them to sell faster. Stewart Milne Group identified the best partner, Grain, to install the best fibre optic network available alongside work taking place on new and existing roads in order to make the installation cost effective.

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Stewart Milne Group Encourge More Action to Deliver Faster Internet Connections to Scotland

The Director of Special Projects for Stewart Milne Group, Jim Fitzsimons has added his voice to the chorus calling for property developers to have more of an input in improving Scotland’s woefully inadequate digital infrastructure. It has been agreed by many, including Jim Fitzsimons that the improvement of digital infrastructure in Scotland is essential to the success of the Scottish economy. There are still too many areas of Scotland that, at the moment, have a strongly inadequate connection to broadband, with both local and national government initiatives not working to address the main problems behind this lack of connectivity quickly enough. Stewart Milne Group is one of the UK’s leading independent home builders and timber system manufacturing companies. The company has been working on a project bring forward the larges new “town” in Aberdeen, Countesswells. Ultrafast broadband has been installed in this area and it is thought that the work carried out here should be replicated by other developers on projects across Scotland and should be an essential part of the considerations when planning a new housing or mixed-use developments. The new £800 million community located to the west of Aberdeen will have access to broadband speeds that are measured at 35 times faster than the UK average. It is thought that this connectivity improvement is a first for a new town development. The independent home building company installed the fibre optic network necessary to deliver such significantly higher speeds while also fitting other groundworks services such as gas and drainage. It should be par for the course across all developments, in Scotland and beyond that the most up to date internet services are installed alongside other essential services. The improvement of connectivity will make new housing developments more appealing, and help them to sell faster. Stewart Milne Group identified the best partner, Grain, to install the best fibre optic network available alongside work taking place on new and existing roads in order to make the installation cost effective.

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