The Executive Summary for the 2015 RIBA Benchmarking survey The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) executive summary of their Benchmarking survey was recently published. The survey provides fundamental knowledge about how well architecture practices in the UK are performing and how they compare to other practices in the architectural industry. The in-depth evaluation is comprised against the following criteria: •
Profit
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Turnover
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Marketing spend
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Hourly rates
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Salaries
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Client types and sectors.
Similar to our own Business Conditions Survey (results available here), by analysing the survey data professionals are better equipped to shape the future of their businesses and identify areas of strength, weakness and opportunity. All results are key benchmarks but it is advised to consider each benchmark at the correct level for your practice’s size and profile. Key results from the summary In general •
£2.4bn (AUD$4.49bn) total revenue in the past 12 months — 55% from London based practices.
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£400m (AUD$748m) total profits = 18% of revenue.
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Practices spend 40% of revenue on paying salaries, increasing with practice size.
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32,000 staff employed in practices
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124,000 projects worked on by practices in the past 12 months
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£500m (AUD$936m) revenue from work on projects outside the UK
Larger practices •
Focus more on new build work
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Have more clients and jobs, but a smaller number of clients and jobs per person.
