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黑洞社区 Design Partnership, the UK鈥檚 biggest architect, operated at a loss last year after paying staff an extra 拢5m, it has emerged.

Accounts show that BDP鈥檚 costs outweighed income by 拢20,000. The practice still made a small profit thanks to interest payments and joint venture income, although even this fell by almost a third from last year.

The balance sheet for the practice shows the pre-tax profit for the year to 30 June was 拢1.1m, a 30% drop from the 拢1.6m last year. This was despite a 6.5% rise in turnover, up to 拢84.4m from 拢79.2m in 2006.

Commentators have suggested that the decline in profit is partly because it has raised salaries to ward off poachers. Salaries rose by an average of nearly 拢3,500, or more than 10% over the year, increasing the total bill by 拢5.2m.

One analyst said: 鈥淚n architecture, your only asset of any note is your people. In a competitive market if you don鈥檛 pay them well you鈥檒l lose them.鈥� However, he said this would not necessarily mean a drop in operating profit.

Peter Drummond, BDP鈥檚 chief executive, denied that the operating loss was a cause for concern. He said: 鈥淭his is an entirely planned position.

鈥淏ecause we have a strong balance sheet and strong resources we do not have the need to bolster our profits or pay external owners.鈥�

John Parker, the financial officer, said: 鈥淚n purely financial terms, yes, the accounts show an operating loss. But we are re-investing money in our staff, and our cash position is extremely good. Other companies may look at the bottom line, but we are an employee-owned company and we can operate on a different approach.鈥�

BDP employs 1,110 staff in 10 offices across the UK and Ireland, 37 more than in 2006. In June it opened an office in Winchester, Hampshire.

Its big successes have been in the 黑洞社区 Schools for the Future programme. It is working on programmes in Liverpool, north London and Sheffield.