BDP’s group accounts for the year ending 30 June 2025 show the global giant’s profits before taxation tumbled from £10.2 million in 2024 to just under £4.1 million.
Documents just published at Companies House for BDP Holdings also reveal that its turnover dropped by nearly 13 per cent from a record high of £148.6 million in 2024 to £129.6 million.
The company’s headcount shrank too. The size of its workforce peaked in 2024 at 1,350 employees, but in the subsequent 12 months, the average number of directors, staff and contractors fell to 1,247, while the total number of architects and ‘related professions’ dropped from 892 to 814.
During the period covered by the accounts, the multidisciplinary company laid off around 30 staff from its London office. The UK’s then second-largest practice – now the third biggest – confirmed it had carried out a round of redundancies in summer 2024, blaming ‘turbulent market conditions’.
Those tough trading conditions in London and the rest of the country are reflected in BDP’s latest financial statement. The figures reveal a drop in UK fee income from £101.2 million to £86.2 million.
Turnover from jobs in the ‘rest of the world’ dropped by £4 million. However, the 63-year-old practice’s European workload edged up slightly to £11.9 million from £11.5 million.
Chief executive Nick Fairham’s review accompanying the 2025 accounts acknowledged that the financial results reflected ‘tougher trading conditions, especially in the UK and China’.
But he said BDP had ‘leaned into the resilience of our diversified model’, adding that ‘sector-led teams had unlocked new opportunities in Canada, Malaysia, Japan and India, alongside strong momentum in Dublin, Abu Dhabi and Toronto’.
In a statement released to the AJ, Fairham added: ‘2025 has been a year of purposeful renewal.
‘As our international workload grows, we are enhancing our federated network of studios, building a more globally connected design practice that can share expertise across regions and deliver greater value for clients.
‘Our focus remains on steady, sustainable progress and reinforcing the foundations of our socially progressive practice, supporting our clients’ most important projects, and delivering positive outcomes for the communities we serve.’
Last month, a design consortium comprising BDP, Cox Architecture and Collage Design unveiled designs for 141ha masterplan for the new Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave at the heart of Amdavad in India.
Closer to home, in November, the practice BDP revealed its proposals for Plymouth’s Grade II-listed Civic Centre, converting the landmark into housing and a skills hub for Plymouth Council, which retook control of the building from Urban Splash.
Early last year, the practice joined the Tokio Marine group after the multinational insurance company bought Integrated Design & Engineering Holdings (ID&E Holdings) – the parent company of Nippon Koei, which itself owns BDP.
BDP, Cox Architecture and Collage Design’s for a new sports complex in Amdavad, India