A long-standing development site on the green fringes of Edinburgh has given Sir David Murray and his family’s investment business a much-needed boost.
A year ago, the group completed the sale of the 110-acre Redheughs site – part of the 600-acre ‘Garden District’ on the west side of Edinburgh – to Places for People (PfP), one of the UK’s largest social enterprises.
The sale was a milestone in the group’s land and property strategy, coming ten years after the firm first applied for outline planning permission for the site. Work is now underway by PfP to build 1,300 homes of various types and tenures, including more than 330 new affordable homes, plus a primary school, local amenities, and extensive greenspace.
Because of this, Murray Capital Holdings, the investment business of the Murray family and Sir David Murray, was able to record an £18m profit last year.
The completion of the Redheughs site sale helped the group achieve a profit before tax of £18.1m (2024: £1.7m loss) in the financial year ending 30 June 2025, on revenues of £91m that were up 33 per cent on the previous year (2024: £68m).
Murray Capital’s principal activities are the development of land for the residential and commercial sectors; the provision of steel stockholding, processing and distribution; equity investments in a portfolio of primarily unlisted companies/funds; and wine importing, distribution and retail.
Those proceeds helped offset a £12.5m reduction in metal stockholding sales during the period, impacted by falling demand and volatile market pricing exacerbated by the introduction of tariffs and quotas in global steel markets.
More than £29m of land receipts are still due to be collected by the group in regular instalments through to January 2028, providing medium-term cash flow that will support future land promotion and developments, as well as other business investments. Those other investment activities required “careful management in a challenging market” last year, with the firm booking a £1.2m impairment charge against its portfolio.
Net cash levels at the year-end were maintained at a similar level to the previous year, with the land sale proceeds allowing the group to reduce loan notes by more than £3m during the year.
Shareholders’ funds increased from £33m to £47m, with the group’s profits after tax, net of dividends, boosting retained earnings.
David D. Murray, managing director of Murray Capital Holdings, said: “Our business approach is long-term and patient by nature and our 2025 results are, by definition, exceptional because it has taken several years – and sustained financial and management commitment – to generate that income from land sales. The decrease in metal stockholding activity reflects challenging trading conditions in terms of reduced levels of demand as well as weakening prices. The wine businesses again performed well, recording a rise in turnover in a relatively flat market. Overall, the Group is in a very strong position with a significant land bank and a diversified portfolio of interests and investments.”
