Architect sees turnover and staff numbers swell

Upgrading its IT equipment during the pandemic helped Eric Parry weather the effects of the pandemic with the architect substantially improving profits last year.

The firm behind the 拢170m Justice Quarter in London鈥檚 Fleet Street for the City of London Corporation, which was given planning this spring, said a 鈥渟ubstantial鈥 investment in IT equipment 鈥渆nabled staff to work from home and continue to deliver the highest standard of services to our clients鈥.

justice

Source: DBOX for Eric Parry Architects

The Justice Quarter scheme will include a new courts complex and commercial building

In its accounts filed at Companies House for the year to July 2020, the practice said it only had to furlough one member of staff when it was forced to close its office on Banner Street near Old Street at the height of the first lockdown.

The practice, which is also working on plans to revamp Bishopsgate Goodsyard in Shoreditch, said the 鈥減endulum [was] swinging back to a new normal of the collective workspace鈥 but added that tenants wanted a much greater emphasis placed on air, light and access to an external environment.

Turnover increased 43% to just over 拢8m with pre-tax profit climbing from just over 拢4,000 to 拢232,000. The number of employees during the period went up to 78, from 62.