According to the company’s accounts for the year ending 31 October 2024, the practice’s turnover in the Middle East has rocketed from £6.6 million in 2023 to £17.8 million.
Its workload in the region now makes up 83 per cent of its total reported worldwide income of £21.5 million. This figure itself has doubled from the £10.3 million stated as its last turnover in unaudited figures for 2023.
The practice, which has expanded its ownership to 15 members of the existing team, posted a pre-tax profit of £3.9 million in 2024. This is also a significant increase on the £1.1 million from the previous accounting period.
During the last trading year, its average workforce numbers rose from 42 to 48.
The practice already has studios in London, Edinburgh, Sydney and New York, and has said it will launch a ‘dedicated’ office in Riyadh this autumn in ‘response to growing regional demand and a deepening commitment to cultural collaboration’.
Among McAslans’ projects in the Middle East is a ‘major cultural facility’ opposite the UNESCO-listed At-Turaif site in Riyadh.
Ongoing projects elsewhere in the world include the transformation of George Square in Glasgow, the Passivhaus-led Saïd Business School in Oxford, which completes later this year, and a new dental university in Malawi.
In its accounts statement, company chair John McAslan said that the current trading year was set to be even rosier. ‘Looking forward to the financial year of 2024/2025,’ he wrote, ‘the practice expects to surpass this year’s financial performance due to the strong pipeline of secured new commissions in the UK and internationally.’