Why David Murray waited 10 years to build in west Edinburgh
– The business dynasty on “patient” developing, investors heading to Manchester and a 6-year wait for planning permission
by David Forsyth – Edinburgh Inquirer
There is a Persian proverb that says: “Patience is bitter, but it bears sweet fruit.” David Murray is a patient man who is applying that quality to developing the large tracts of land his family own in and around Edinburgh.
Case in point? The sale last year of a 110-acre site, Redheughs, on the western fringe of Edinburgh, to Places for People, which helped the family business – Murray Capital Holdings – record an £18 million profit in its latest annual accounts.
David, son of the renowned businessman and entrepreneur Sir David Murray, is the first to appreciate this was no quick return. It came fully four decades after the site was bought by Sir David.
David and his brother Keith are the two majority shareholders in Murray Capital Holdings. Sir David is non-executive chairman as well as a minority shareholder.
Source of pride
The land sale was also realised a decade after Murray Capital first applied for outline planning permission for the site. Places for People is one of the UK’s largest social enterprises, with developments which contain more than average quantities of affordable housing. Work is now underway to build 1,300 homes, including more than 330 new affordable houses, plus a primary school, local amenities and greenspace.
“Because we are a family business, with a diverse portfolio and pretty much no bank debt, we can take a long-term and patient approach. We are very much from and rooted in Edinburgh. We’re not going offshore, and we will continue to pay our taxes. Being from Edinburgh is for us a source of pride.”
And with a further 600 acres in and around Edinburgh, mostly close to Redheughs in the so called “Garden District”, the Murray family will continue to show patience as they seek out the right opportunities and partners. They will continue to play a significant role in shaping future developments in an area the council, amongst others, feels is vital to addressing the housing emergency being endured in Scotland’s Capital.
It should be said at this point there are some who work within homelessness – for example at Edinburgh Cyrenians – who want to see reform of Scotland’s land ownership laws to tackle so-called land-banking and unlock sites for development.
The road to getting development out of the ground has been arduous, as well as lengthy, for the Murrays. “For example, we own a parcel of land in west Edinburgh received planning permission from the city council for an office dominated mixed tenure development, which was called in by the Scottish Government for review and finally secured a ‘minded to grant’ decision six years after it was called in.
‘Barrier to progress’
“By that time, the market had changed, and the section 75 infrastructure and affordable housing terms imposed on us made the existing development unviable and we are having to look at the whole thing all over again.
“We are not alone in experiencing this barrier to progress, with many other landholdings and developers stuck in the pipeline due to prohibitive planning consent conditions, despite there being an appetite to invest which we are now seeing go to other places, notably Manchester.”
Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron lost her role as housing convener on the city council late last year after arguing the council should reconsider its requirement for all new development to have 35% affordable housing – higher than the 25% quota in the rest of Scotland – claiming the policy could be dissuading investment in Edinburgh’s housing.
The Murray family has three main areas of activity in which it invests – developing land for the residential and commercial sectors, steel stockholding, processing and distribution; and wine-making, importing, distribution and retail. David Murray looks after the land and development and investing side of the business. Sir David, who built his empire on steel, runs Murray Metals; while Keith has the plum job of running the family’s vineyard and winery in Provence, Chateau Routas and the legendary wine importing and retail business, Cockburns of Leith, the city’s oldest wine business dating back to 1796.
“Yeah, Keith is usually off travelling on wine business, usually somewhere much sunnier than here” smiles David.
It’s not just land, wine and steel that the family business invests in. They also invest in other businesses and entrepreneurs – in Edinburgh most notably in growing fintech company Lending Crowd, which provides peer-to-peer financial support to small and medium sized businesses. By last month, Lending Crowd had loaned £550 million through its platform. The Murray family also invested in Scottish bus-makers Alexander Dennis.
Sighs and support
David said: “Again, we are patient investors. We are also an entrepreneurial business, so we want to support businesses – especially those in Scotland and in Edinburgh – to grow. We are always open to approach.”
He sighs as we broach the topic of Sir David’s ownership of Rangers. It’s a subject which still raises its head in almost every interview, even coming up for 15 years after the ill-fated sale of the club to Craig Whyte. A year later, the club was insolvent, relegated to the third-tier of Scottish football, and had to be reinvented. A tax-free loan scheme for players and staff between 2001 and 2010 fell foul of HMRC and coupled with a debt of £18 million Whyte was unable to keep the club going. Sir David was criticised for his part in the club’s downfall – despite a decade of glory before the hurt – and has since apologised to Rangers supporters.
“Dad’s book, Mettle, sets out the Rangers situation in great detail and there’s not a lot I can or would want to add to it.”
Family shows its mettle
David was just two years old when his father, aged just 24 and having launched Murray International Metals a year earlier, suffered a calamitous car crash in his Lotus when a tyre blew, sending him into a tree. The severity of his injuries meant both legs were amputated. In his book, Sir David said he became even more determined to succeed. “I had a young son of a few months old (Keith) and a two-year-old. My father had just passed away. I could only go one way. I couldn’t fail.”
The business is now largely in the hands of his two sons. So where does David see the company going in the next ten years? “West Edinburgh certainly – we are actively pursuing projects in our sites there. We will be working in collaboration with others – I think that the areas being opened up on the western fringes of the city will be key to tackling the housing crisis in Edinburgh.
“We are determined to play our part, and our patient approach will continue to make sure we get the right partners and proposals to take forward. The city has been good to us, and it means a great deal to us.”
That also manifests in the quiet and valuable work and support of the family’s Foundation. Again, this is carried out through a number of partnerships including one – fittingly – in football with Spartans FC. “We work with a few partners in the north of the city in particular, where there are some big challenges.” Maggie’s Centre is another partner which benefits from the family’s support.
David said: “We’ve been in business in this city for 50 years, and we aim to be around for decades more. There’s a lot we still want to do.”
How will that all work out? We might just have to be patient.
