Chief Executive's Review Of The Year

It is in times of crisis that BDP’s true spirit and resilience shines through. I suspect that we have just faced the most challenging 12 months in our 60 year history but each of our studios has risen to meet the enormous trials posed by the coronavirus pandemic with fortitude, flexibility and understanding. Of course, we must acknowledge how difficult this year has been for so many people and we are highly conscious of the devastating impact this health crisis has had on so many of our colleagues, clients and partners. But of all the emotions experienced over the past year, the predominant sense I have is pride in being part of the leadership team for such an extraordinary practice. Our ethos of collaboration and interdisciplinary team working has never been stronger and has never served us so well.

As we celebrate 60 years of the practice, I am about to celebrate 36 years of working in BDP, so I have been around for exactly 60% of our remarkable journey. In that time everything has changed and nothing has changed. It was still the days of Rotring pens, tracing paper, razor blades and dyeline prints. The practice’s turnover was £22m (equivalent to £46m in today’s terms) and we had a huge team working on the Channel Tunnel UK Terminal. While the design process, technology support and procurement of buildings has changed radically over those years, the essential spirit of BDP has not. The organisation I joined in 1985 was creative, user-inspired, collaborative and highly supportive of one another. That aspect of our culture will never change.

We recently published our results for the financial year ended 30 June 2020. The practice achieved revenues of £131.3m (up 22.9% on the previous year) and a pre-tax operating profit of £13.3m (up 40% on the previous year). These results benefit from a full 12-month input from our Toronto studio - BDP Quadrangle - which joined the BDP group in February 2019. For the first nine months of the year to 30 June 2020 we had developed outstanding momentum with very strong demand for our services across the globe. However, in line with most other consultants, the last three months of the financial year were negatively impacted by the pandemic and associated lockdown.

We are currently structuring a new Three Year Plan for the practice and I am encouraged by the fairly high degree of optimism expressed by our studios in relation to our prospects for the second half of 2021. There is no doubt that this crisis will bring about permanent change in our working practices and particularly so in relation to remote working opportunities. Many work management routines and attitudes have been rendered obsolete by our experiences in working through the pandemic. From the recognition of work-life balance issues and personal fulfilment to delegation and employee empowerment, progressive companies are rethinking their future workplace. Nevertheless some traditional practices exist for very good reasons. A balance of office and remote work will satisfy the needs of our clients and our project commitments but completely separating staff from one another will undermine essential collaboration, teamwork and productivity. There may be certain circumstances in which remote work is feasible and even preferable, but given the huge advantages of face to face collaboration and interaction in the design environment, these situations should be taken as exceptions rather than the rule. Our approach in the post-pandemic new normal will be to find an optimal combination of studio-based and remote work that best helps the practice to achieve its goals.

I believe that the pandemic has given such stark notice of our fragility that it will move humanity much quicker in the direction of sustainable solutions to the global threat of climate change. Like the pandemic, our response to this peril will change the arc of our lives. The last year has reminded us how the biggest crises, be they medical, economic or environmental, demand a world-wide, coordinated response. As society and governments struggle to tackle the problem of climate change, the design consultancy community faces an immense responsibility - and some might argue a monumental opportunity - to make an impact. We must guide our design teams and our clients on climate-adaptive strategies, setting ever higher environmental goals for all of our projects.

As we begin to emerge from the darkest days of the pandemic, we look towards the challenges of the next decade of our history with renewed energy and optimism. A huge thank you to everyone in BDP and to our valued clients and partners for your incredible support over the past year.

John McManus, Chief Executive

Picture Credits

Nick Caville Bharat Aggerwal David Barbour Commission Air Doublespace Photography Sanna Fisher-Payne Gareth Gardner Martine Hamilton-Knight Hufton+Crow Paul Karalius Marie Louise Halpenny Tom Niven Scott Norsworthy Olavs Silis Philip Vile Michael Whitestone Terrence Zhang

Editorial and Design

Russell Eggar Chris Harding Jack Lambert Julianne McAtarsney Helen Moorhouse Sharon Steward

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