Chief executive says firm would consider buying another architectural practice despite loss
Aukett Fitzroy Robinson is open to acquiring another architecture practice, despite recently posting a 拢1.2m pre-tax loss, the firm鈥檚 chief executive has said.
Last week the firm posted a 拢1.2m pre-tax loss for the financial year to 30 September 2011, but AFR chief executive Nicholas Thompson said he would still consider an acquisition.
鈥淚t would be quite opportunistic [鈥 I have no qualms about buying a bigger business. I don鈥檛 want to be bought by anyone,鈥� he told 黑洞社区.
Thompson added that the firm had returned many of its staff to full pay - including half its London office and its Russian studios - after staff took temporary pay cuts due to the recession.
An eight-fold increase in Russian work helped AFR to grow its turnover by 16%, to 拢9.2m.
But the firm, which reported grim results in 2010, saw its pre-tax loss jump a third to 拢1.2m in 2011, from 拢787,000 the previous year.
Thompson said the increased loss reflected two exceptional items - a 拢215,000 loss from the closure of the practice鈥檚 Warsaw studio last September and a 拢835,000 write-off of unpaid fees for a hotel scheme in West London.
He added that aside from these items, AFR reduced its loss last year to 拢394,000 with a profit of 拢367,000 in the second half of the financial year.
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