AHR reports robust earnings in turnover and profit through 2021, the company’s latest financial results have shown.
The architecture and building consultancy practice’s recently published group figures for the year to 31 December 2021 show that turnover increased by 8% to £30.2m (2020: £28.0m), and profit before tax increased to £3.5m (2020: £2.9m). The increase in turnover was principally due to the recovery in both the micro and macro-economic climate in 2021 following the initial market shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. With the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe exacerbating the ongoing economic challenges, we took the decision to disposed of our Polish subsidiary to local management and focus on what has always been our core market, the UK.
Anthony Langan, managing director of Architecture commented,
“With new ways of working, innovation and investment in technology, together with our teams’ exceptional efforts we have continued to deliver high quality design services to our clients throughout further lockdowns. The combined UK Architecture business saw turnover increase by 15% to £17.2m (2020: £14.9m), and operating profit remaining consistent at £1.5m (2020: £1.5m).
Anthony added “The 2021 financial year continued to be heavily impacted by further lockdowns, however, as businesses have adapted to a new way of working much of the uncertainty lessened significantly. Our experience across multiple sectors has given us the ability to realise a diversity of opportunities.
“We have continued to build upon our sustainability aspirations, and in 2021 became Passivhaus Trust patron members and have trained Passivhaus designers in all our offices across the country. We continue to design and deliver a host of sustainable projects including a 400-place Net Zero Carbon SEND school in North Wiltshire, two Passivhaus residential schemes for Midlothian Council, and the replacement Woodmill and St Columba’s High Schools, designed to be one of the UK’s largest Passivhaus education buildings.
“I am exceptionally proud of the practice and enthusiastic about our future. I do anticipate another challenging 12 months ahead, however, we remain confident and enthusiastic as we continue to seize upon opportunities through our diverse multi-sector expertise and balance of projects across the public and private sectors.”
Robert Grayson, managing director of Building Consultancy noted,
“We have continued to invest in developing ‘sustainable’ approaches to projects and in the way that the business operates.
“As a result of our growing presence throughout key markets and sectors across the UK, the Building Consultancy business saw turnover increase to £12.3m (2020: £10.5m) and operating profit of £2.2m (2020: £1.8m). We continued to deliver major residential sector commissions under our longstanding framework agreements, as well as successfully acquiring new clients in this sector. Education continues to be our largest sector and our client relationships continue to develop as we increase our work across schools, academies, colleges and universities.
Our Geomatic Consultancy offering positions us at the forefront of innovation in our industry, with commissions combining reality capture using laser scanning, ‘rapid capture’ technology and virtual reality to create digital representation of real-world environments.”
The year saw an abundance of award wins, including the BCO Regional Innovation Award for The Spine in Liverpool, RIBA regional award for School of Engineering, University West of
England and Building Design Education (nursery to 6 th form) Architect of the Year. Embedding sustainable development principles continue to be at the heart of the practice, with
the wellbeing of users a priority. The Spine, a WELL Platinum designed office building, is at the heart of the flourishing Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, completed in May 2021, and is one of the world’s healthiest buildings. AHR has also designed the new Health and Innovation Campus at The University of Huddersfield, which is the first University building ever designed to WELL Platinum Standard.