UK’s Aukett Swanke buys Dubai architecture practice

Aukett Swanke will add Peer John R Harris & Partners' 27 staff to its existing offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, taking its total employee numbers of over 370.

UK architecture firm Aukett Swanke Group has bought Dubai-based Peer John R Harris & Partners (JRHP) in a deal that it says will allow it to bid for more Middle East work.

It has paid £897,000 (Dh5.1m) for an 80 per cent stake in JRHP, with the remaining 20 per cent being retained by two current JRHP directors, who will remain with the firm. The vendors, who were not employees, have now left the business.

Aukett Swanke will add JRHP’s 27 staff to its existing offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, taking its total employee numbers of over 370.

In a statement, Aukett Swanke said it has “recognised for some time that its existing operation in the Middle East has lacked the critical mass to successfully bid for some of the larger and more prestigious projects”.

It added that JRHP made a pre-tax profit of £182,000 on revenue of £2.6 million last year. Aukett Swanke has just posted half-year results to March 31 showing a 21 per cent rise in sales to £9.2m and a 9 per cent climb in pre-tax profit to £815,000, although increased staff costs in the Middle East led to it making a small operating loss in the region.

Chief executive Nicholas Thompson said the Middle East is “the current focus of our expansion plans”.

“We have been seeking to augment our Middle East offering for some time and are delighted that we have been able to secure a major shareholding in JRHP. Its rich history, coupled with our own, make for a robust platform in both our scale of operation and design skill from which we can continue our expansion plans for the region.”

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