Last updated June 15th 2022
Peel Group
Manchester-based Peel Group is a major infrastructure, transport and real estate investment company which is a significant player in the UK regional regeneration sector.
Today, Peel Land and Property Group owns and manages 12 million sq ft of property and 20,000 acres of land and water. As well as its retail parks, the group has major holdings in Glasgow Harbour, Chatham Waters, Liverpool and Wirral Waters, and Traffordcity in Manchester with a total portfolio worth £2.4 billion. During 2020, the group progressed its various waterfront developments, facilitating the start of over £884 million of new homes with new public realms involving an investment of over £179 million.
As well as a major development pipeline, the group has a proven track record of developments which have included The Trafford Centre shopping centre and MediaCityUK in Manchester and Gloucester Quays Outlet Centre as well as numerous business parks.
Under chairman John Whittaker, Peel puts an emphasis on investing for the long term with a philosophy of recycling capital. Its motto is – determination, perseverance and patience. Today, Peel Group is controlled by the Isle of Man-based Billown Trust with the remainder owned by the Olayan Group, a private group of 50 companies in various sectors and with interests in Saudi Arabia.
In 2015, Peel Group jointly formed PLP, a specialist developer, manager and owner of UK logistics real estate along with MIRA Real Estate and Ivanhoe Cambridge.
Peel also has businesses in leisure, including hotels and serviced apartments as well as Salford City Stadium, the Bridgewater Canal, Blackburn Ice Arena and Trafford Golf Centre. Its ports interests include Liverpool Port and the Manchester Ship Canal as well as Heysham Port, Medway Ports and Clydeport. Meanwhile, its aviation interests include Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Durham Tees Valley Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. It also has an energy & environment business with interests in wind and tidal power. The group”s Wirral Waters and Port Salford developments should benefit from the decision in early 2021 to make the Liverpool City Region, one of the government”s new freeports.
The group’s Ocean Gateway strategy aims to deliver huge scale of private sector investment across the North West and city regions of Liverpool and Manchester and nearby areas in Cheshire and Warrington involving a £50 billion programme, with 50 projects over 50 years. In the first ten years of the strategy the company says it has delivered more than £5 billion of private investment, creating 21,000 jobs and 5,000 new homes.
Financials
To view the financials for Peel Holdings L&P Holdings (UK), visit Companies House and use Company ID 06497115.
The latest results on continuing activities for Peel Holdings Land and Property (UK) were inevitably heavily impacted by Covid in the year to end-March 2021. Although turnover rose to £88.43 million from £78.5 million previously, operating profits fell to £9.05 million from £29.2 million previously and the company reported a pre-tax loss of £37.6 million after heavy interest payments, compared to a loss of £25.3 million previously. Meanwhile, the company had net debt of £818.1 million, as at March 2021, down from £865.3 million. The group”s annualised rent roll fell by 5.3% to £65.2 million.
Developments
In March 2021, the government approved Everton FC”s plans for its new 52,000-seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on Peel L&P’s Liverpool Waters site. Laing O”Rourke has been appointed as the preferred contractor and according to Glenigan data, work started in August 2021 to run for 36 months.The hope is that the scheme will help transform north Liverpool and the northern docklands and give a major boost to the local economy.
Meanwhile, a Central Docks masterplan at Liverpool Waters approved in November 2019 paves the way for applications for at least 3,000 homes, offices, hotels and a new public park. In June 2022, Peel L&P submitted a planning application to build a £25m maritime centre of excellence focused on innovation, engineering, R&D, entrepreneurship and training at Wirral Waters. Meanwhile, work on a £20 million care village at Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters site started in May 2022.
In the industrial sector, Peel L & P, together with Ivanhoé Cambridge, unveiled plans in March 2021 to develop a major 2 million sq ft logistics project in Milton Keynes. The duo have acquired a 135 acre site, one of the largest in the South East. at South Caldecotte via PLP UK Logistics Venture to develop a business park for logistics and manufacturing occupiers.
At Gateway East, near Sheffield Doncaster Airport, the group has consent for 3.5 million sq ft of space for advanced manufacturing and logistics use. In April 2022, Panattoni, a large industrial developer, finalised contracts to buy nearly 20 acres to build a 417,570 sq ft building at GatewayEast.
In spring 2020, plans were approved to build the UK’s first city-based ”wellbeing resort” in Peel L&P’s TraffordCity development in Manchester. The £250 million scheme, Therme Manchester, will involve hundreds of water-based activities with wellbeing treatments and aims to attract up to two million visitors per year. Construction has been deferred until 2022.
At Peel L&P”s Manchester Waters site, planning permission has been granted for another three residential towers involving some 526 flats to be built by a developer over coming years. Work on the third tower is set to start in September 2022. In spring 2022, Salford City Council gave the green light to transform Quayside MediaCity’s southern canal side walkway into a new area which will champion, food and drink independents.
On the housing front in spring 2022, Peel L&P and its homebuilder Northstone brought forward plans at Hazelhurst Farm in Salford for up to 450 energy efficient homes.
Meanwhile in June 2022, Peel L&P is hosting a consultation on an initial masterplan for its proposed regeneration of Chatham Docks Industrial Estate which will involve employment space, a 2km riverside walk and around 3,600 new homes.
Proposals for the £100m Glasgow Harbour development submitted by Lifestyle Outlets, part of Peel L &P, were approved by the city council in early 2020. The scheme will involve a mix of retail, food and drink, leisure, a multiplex cinema and public spaces. At Glasgow Waters the group”s masterplan involves 1,100 new homes plus a hotel and leisure facilities
The firm has also consolidated its environment, energy and water businesses into a new brand, Peel NRE. In June 2022, plans for an innovative £20m facility in West Dunbartonshire to turn waste plastic into hydrogen were approved. A similar scheme is set to get underway at Rothesay Dock on Clydebank (see below).
Glenigan Data
Glenigan figures point to a busy development programme in hand at Peel Group. They show that work is due to start in late 2022 on Peel NRE’s £20 million plastics to hydrogen facility at Rothesay Dock on Clydebank and run for 15 months (Project ID: 12214297). Meanwhile, detailed plans have been submitted on Peel L&P’s £25 million Wirral Waters Maritime Knowledge Hub in Birkenhead Work is set to start in summer 2023 and continue for 18 months (Project ID: 18193026).
Conclusion: A major player in UK regeneration
The government”s enthusiasm for regeneration in northern England remains strong and as one of the country’s largest private developers based in the North West, Peel L &P is well-placed to take advantage of ”levelling-up” initiatives. The company’s status as a private company has enabled it to pursue a wider range of interests – including energy, media and transport – than would not be practical for a publicly quoted company. Although the group carries significant debt and the scale of some of its retail and commercial office developments may be less ambitious in the near term, it remains a significant force in the UK regeneration scene.
Winning work with Peel Group
Peel takes a long term approach to planning and development, often spending 10 years or longer developing projects. Many schemes involve partnerships with stakeholders, in particular local authorities and it aims to create environments which succeed in the long term.
Peel Land and Property has wide experience in delivering major projects as well as turnkey projects for individual occupiers across the offices, industrial, retail and leisure sectors. It continues to manage most of its developments after completion. Details on the company”s procurement hub can be seen on its website here
Contacts:
Chris Capes is Development Director at Peel L&P for the Liverpool Waters project.
Tel: 0161 629 8200
Email: ccapes@peel.co.uk
Rosie Wilson is Director Land & Estates at Peel L&P
Tel: 0161 629 8200
James Riddick is Group Head of Supply Chain at Peel Ports Group
Tel: 0151 949 6000