Cotswold Life, February edition

Collette Fairweather meets with Pete Mackenzie, Managing Director and founder of Mackenzie Miller Homes, to discuss family values, the importance of good design and execution, and how’s it’s a company priority to get your boots dirty.

As light and warmth finally dominate the seasonal stretch of dark days, a hibernating property market is stoked from its slumber, its adoring public awaiting an influx of spring property stock. A repetitious seasonal deluge, a predictable tossup between the ever-common build-and-dash developers and minimal but exorbitant offerings of tired, traditional property. The outlook for the Cotswold Housing market continues to be one of repetitive compromise. If ever there was a time for fresh approach, it is now. Please enter – Pete Mackenzie and team, who are thankfully breathing new life into a stagnant market with a personal approach to building new homes in the Cotswolds.

As a Chartered Surveyor with a masters in law and property, there was little doubt Pete was professionally poised for a career with property  ‘I needed to create something tangible not transactional within property. Having descended from a line of engineers, my memories are of handmade gifts, of fortes and castles made by my grandfather, I remember the pleasure and pride he felt in their in their creation. That’s what I wanted to emulate’.

Pete established Mackenzie Miller Homes in 2015, founded on  corner stones of design and detail, quality and most importantly family. ‘I have always enjoyed working directly with my family. It almost has a feeling of family honour, it’s a feeling of unity, the pride that we all take in having our name on the headed paper’.

‘Buying a home is probably the biggest investment any person will ever make, it’s hugely rewarding knowing that people want to invest their every penny into a home you’ve created. It’s a responsibility never taken lightly’. The inevitable ever-growing success has been cemented by their approach to tailor made detail, exemplary customer service and the ability to perfectly balance the practicalities of modern living with the traditional. These bespoke tailoring options can include a multitude of personalisation, from underfloor heating and air conditioning to CCTV and inbuild audio visual equipment. They even provide a full interior design service including the option of handcrafted bespoke cabinetry and statement piece furniture. What has truly set Mackenzie Miller Homes apart from its competitors is that equal pride is taken in providing the option as to the execution of the installation. ‘We don’t underestimate the importance of communication, both with our homeowners, but also with all of our own teams both in the offices and on the ground. Our priority is to get it right the first time’.

Hop over the county border into Warwickshire and Mackenzie Miller Homes has already established a desirable reputation. However it’s the Cotswolds that will benefit for the foreseeable future, as over fifty new homes are scheduled across the next twelve months. Each of these completely bespoke sites contain no more than twenty homes to ensure that these developments don’t dominate the picturesque villages they will inhabit. The next few years will see sites launched within coveted villages of Kemble, Longborough, Chipping Campden, Temple Guiting, Little Rissington and Bourton-on-the-Hill. ‘We put great emphasis on the location, we physically get our walking boots on and go for a walk. It’s hugely important that every home we create plays part in supporting a living village. We ensure that our homeowners can throw on their coat, pull on their boots and walk out their door to buy a pint. Either milk or beer!’

So, heads up house hunters, Mackenzie Miller Homes is definitely one to watch.