Profit more than doubled with global revenue increasing by almost a quarter
Partners at Foster & Partners have been handed an average 拢61,000 payout as the practice reaped the rewards of booming workloads in Europe and the Middle East which saw its pre-tax profit more than double.
The latest accounts at the UK鈥檚 largest architecture firm reveal profit before tax of 拢44.4m for the year ended 30 April 2023, up from 拢21m for the previous 12 months.
The haul was driven by a more than 40% increase in revenue from the Middle East, which rose from 拢83m to 拢118m during the accounting period, amounting to two fifths of the firm鈥檚 global income.
Turnover also nearly doubled in Continental Europe, from 拢21.7m to 拢40.6m, while in the UK it jumped from 拢24m to 拢39.7m.
Despite revenue falling from 拢74.7m to 拢64.1m in Asia and from 拢28.6m to 拢24.8m in North America, the strong performance elsewhere saw total global turnover increase by almost a quarter, from 拢232.7m in 2022 to 拢290.2m.
The firm鈥檚 191 partners shared an 拢11.7m payout, while dividends of 拢14.6m were paid to shareholders
Average headcount also increased during the period to a record high of 1,322, up from 1,243 in the previous year, while turnover per employee increased from 拢187,000 to 拢222,000.
The firm completed 23 projects in the year to April 2023, with major schemes including and in New York, and
New plans revealed in 2023 included the BWDC Residential Tower in Manila, and a
Practice founder Norman Foster hailed the firm鈥檚 strong foundations and its strategic partnership with Canadian private investors the Hennick family, which
He also described how in-house teams had been developing AI tools to 鈥渁ugment and enhance鈥� the design process.
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Foster said the use of machine learning models has the 鈥減otential to revolutionise the way we work as teams with the dissemination of knowledge.鈥�
鈥淢aking accessible the vast dataset accumulated over the past 55 years of the practice could be transformative in the sharing of expert knowledge throughout the practice,鈥� he added.
He also paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following her death in 2022 鈥渁fter seventy years of devoted service鈥�.
The practice cancelled its Riverside Festival, due to take place during the month of her death, as a mark of respect.
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