National partnership housing specialist, Lovell, has posted a strong set of 2024 figures, that have positively impacted parent company, Morgan Sindall Group plc’s full year announcement to the London Stock Exchange this morning.
Lovell works in collaboration with both the public and private sector to drive the delivery of multi-tenure homes in every corner of Great Britain, to create much-needed homes, and support the government’s delivery of 1.5m homes over the next five years.
Last year, the firm delivered over 5,000 new homes. 83% of these homes were offered as affordable for housing association and local authority partners —a benchmark that also matched 2023’s performance. In addition, Lovell refurbished and retrofitted a further 2,895 properties.
While there was a slowdown in the sale of private homes on mixed-tenure sites, due to the cost-of-living crisis and rising mortgage rates, revenue across Lovell Partnerships is up by 3% in the year to £861m, with an operating profit of £36.1m. The secured order book at the year-end was £2.174bn, representing a 7% improvement on last year’s position, and a clear reflection of the successful strategic growth and partnership model.
2024 was another record year for the Group, reflecting the high quality of its diverse operations underpinned by the talent and commitment of its people, delivering significant double-digit growth for both adjusted profit before tax and the full year dividend, supported by its high-quality orderbook.
Group revenue increased by 10% to over £4.5bn, while adjusted operating profit before tax was up 19% to £172.5m. The Group’s balance sheet remains strong with net cash of £492m, and its high-quality secured order book of £11.4bn, up 28% on the prior year, leaves the Group well-positioned for the future and on track to deliver an outcome for 2025, which is in line with its current expectations.
Alongside its delivery of new homes, Lovell has continued to expand its services, including working with partners to refurbish and retrofit properties, to create safe and warm homes fit for the future; creating intergenerational communities, by providing homes specifically designed for later life, and unlocking strategic sites through land acquisition to accelerate the delivery of new homes.
Managing Director, Steve Coleby, said: “Our Partnership model has enabled another resilient set of results, with a continued weighting towards affordable homes. We have also further strengthened our Partnership credentials with long-term workstreams giving us a substantial and high-quality secured order book, up 7% in the year to £2.2bn. This gives us a strong footing to accelerate the delivery of more affordable homes across the country, to help meet the government’s ambitious five-year target.
“Being part of the Morgan Sindall Group means that we are a resilient business, with the capacity, financial strength, and the capability to deliver the homes that are sorely needed in our towns and cities.
“We're steadfast in our vision to create the right home for everyone to live their best life, and working collaboratively with our partners, we’re committed to making this happen.
“We’re proud of what we have achieved in 2024, and I would like to thank everyone we work with for their dedication and commitment throughout the year, as we look to 2025 with continued optimism.”
Lovell is a national partnership housing specialist that delivers multi-tenure communities and provides innovative residential construction, regeneration, and retrofit solutions across England, Scotland, and Wales. It is driven by the fundamental belief that home is the essential foundation for people to live their best life, and it works in partnership to make a lasting positive difference everywhere it builds.
Highlights from across the business in 2024, include:
- South Wales and West – Lovell has been selected by Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Councils as their preferred partner to deliver the Cardiff and Vale Housing Partnership. The new partnership is the result of the two authorities' commitment and vision to create exemplary homes and communities across the region, to help tackle current housing pressures by delivering at least 2,260 new homes over the next 10 years.
- Scotland – Lovell has completed the handover of 39 new social rented homes to Melville Housing Association. Located near Mayfield, Dalkeith and Newtongrange, the Oakwood Edge development is part of a wider multi-phase project that will deliver 156 new homes, including two, three and four-bedroom homes and bungalows.
- North East – working with Placefirst, and supported by Newcastle City Council and the North East Combined Authority, Lovell started work on the delivery of 146 new homes, which will regenerate of a brownfield site in the west end of Newcastle. Work is anticipated to complete in 2027.
- Eastern – construction started in 2024 on a range of new schemes across the region, with a total value of £64m. These include 46 homes at Burniston, 54 new homes at Beverley, 54 at Hessle, and 66 in Hornsea.
- East Midlands – construction continues at Standard Hill, with the first handovers of 21 homes for shared ownership and social rent taking place in November 2024. The wider scheme is expected to complete in November 2025.
- East Anglia – William’s Park, a joint venture with Flagship Homes, is a development of two, three, four, and five-bedroom homes and bungalows in Wymondham and has now completed and is over 75 per cent sold.
- Southern – at the end of 2024, Lovell was chosen by Barnet Council as its joint venture partner, to accelerate the regeneration of the North East of the Grahame Park Estate. The partnership will oversee the creation of new homes for affordable rent, shared ownership, and market sale, as well as new community facilities. The project will also invest £500,000 into improvement works at Heybourne Park.
- London – work at Trinity Park continues, as part of the second phase of the visionary One Woolwich regeneration project, being delivered in partnership with the Royal Borough of Greenwich in partnership and PA Housing. Once complete, this 12-year project will deliver 1,500 homes in Woolwich in total, with 600 of these already built at Trinity Walk in 2022.
- South West – Lovell and registered provider, LiveWest, signed a major new £300m partnership agreement in 2024, which will bring forward up to 820 new homes on a 135-acre new site in North Devon.
- North West – development continues at Spinners Quarter, Salford, being delivered by Lovell Together and part of the multi-phase Pendleton Project – one of Greater Manchester’s largest residential-led regeneration schemes, which will create c1,500 new homes in the city by 2031.
To view the Morgan Sindall Group plc 2024 full year results video
