How are the UK’s biggest practices faring in these uncertain economic times? We analyse the latest AJ100 survey data and find a generally positive picture, with growth in practice numbers, fees, diversity and optimism. Not only is the practice at the top continuing to grow, the threshold for inclusion in the AJ100 has risen, too.

Other trends include a doubling in B Corp accreditation, continued take-up of AI and, perhaps worryingly, a decline in the number of architectural assistants. In the survey’s 30th year, we look back at the seismic changes that have impacted the profession over these decades, from the introduction of digital technology to increased awareness of sustainability in practice.

Our thanks to Bruce Tether, professor of management at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, for his analysis of the data.

Overview

Growth in the numbers of architects employed, growth in fee income, greater engagement with sustainability and a spirit of optimism point to a profession making the best of things under difficult trading conditions

Despite an unsettled construction market this year’s data suggests continued growth and renewed optimism among AJ100 practices. The number of architects employed at AJ100 firms has grown, for the fourth year running, to 7,709, up 210 on the previous year. Consequently the minimum number of architects employed in the UK required for inclusion in the AJ100 has increased to 30, up two from last year’s 28. 

Among all the members of this year’s AJ100, the total number of permanently employed architectural staff in the UK was 13,380, 205 up on last year’s 13,175. Fosters remains the largest ‘pure’ architecture practice employer, with 1,908 (up 270) permanent employees. Employment of architects in overseas offices soared by 58 per cent, largely due to the inclusion this year of global practice Gensler.

Aggregate architecture fee income to UK offices was £1,883.9 million, 14 per cent up on last year’s £1,653.6 million, which itself was up almost 10 per cent on the year before. This is a remarkable and impressive run of growth in fee income. Overseas architectural income was a major factor. The amount paid to UK offices for overseas work rose significantly to £724.8 million, up from £484 million. Of the 95 practices in both this and last year’s AJ100, 53 increased their income per architectural staff in the UK, while 42 had reduced income per architectural staff. 

Ten practices reported having opened a new UK office in 2024, compared with eight in 2023. These new offices were well distributed across the country, with two in each of Edinburgh, Bristol and London, and one in each of Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast, Conwy and Fordingbridge. Two practices closed offices and two have plans to open new offices in 2025.

Encouragingly, there has been progress on several aspects of sustainability and diversity. Another eight AJ100 practices have become B Corp-certified, taking the total to 15, and another 15 are in the process of doing so.

There has been a shift in approaches to embodied carbon with, for the first time, more than half of AJ100 practices regularly measuring the embodied carbon of their projects. Forty-four per cent now do so frequently, up from 35 per cent the previous year and just 14 per cent five years before. Nearly all (95 per cent) now measure the carbon footprint of their own businesses.

Ethnic minority representation among architects in AJ100 practices has risen for the fourth time running, and now stands at 1,223, compared with 763 five years earlier (where recorded). Women now comprise nearly 38 per cent of the total number of AJ100 architects.

AJ100 practices continue to embrace AI/machine learning, with 92 per cent of practices now making use of it to some degree, compared with 86 per cent in 2023. Seven per cent are now using this extensively. Practice operations were the most popular application, with 70 per cent using it in this way.

Optimism was at its highest for three years, with two thirds of AJ100 practices optimistic to some degree for their business in 2025. However, these findings are tempered by a sharp fall in the numbers of Part 1 architectural assistants, which are down 16 per cent (including apprentices), and a slight fall in the number of Part 2s, which possibly points to less confidence in the future.

Thirty years ago, Sir Norman Foster & Partners was ranked 19th in the inaugural AJ100. This year, for the 14th time running, Foster + Partners is the largest employer of architects in the UK, now with 651, up more than 100 on the previous year. Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) is now second (309, up nine), while BDP has dropped into third place (301, down 57).

AHMM (220, down 11) remains fourth, Sheppard Robson has climbed to fifth (207, up 55). AtkinsRéalis slips one place to sixth (204, up 14), while Purcell rises to seventh (159, up 25), pushing Allies and Morrison (156, down 16) into eighth place. Hawkins\Brown (144, down 23) is 9th, while AECOM and Corstorphine & Wright share 10th, with 135 architects employed in the UK. The top 11 now account for 35.6 per cent of all of the architects employed by the AJ100 practices, while, as last year, the top 23 account for half of the AJ100’s UK-based architects. 

Among the 95 practices appearing on this and last year’s AJ100, 47 practices increased their headcount of architects, while 40 reduced their headcounts, and eight remain unchanged. Aggregate UK employment of architects increased by 100 over the previous year. 

Fosters reported the largest increase in UK-based architects in absolute terms (up 105), followed by Sheppard Robson (up 55), WATG (up 26) and Purcell (up 25). In relative terms, WATG had the largest growth (up 81 per cent), followed by BakerHicks and Sheppard Robson (both up 36 per cent), with Associated Architects just behind (up 35 per cent). In absolute terms, BDP reduced its UK-based architect headcount by the most (down 57), followed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (down 26). In relative terms, Oberlanders contracted the most, reducing its UK-based architect headcount by 34 per cent.

 

Top 10s

Which practices earn the most from UK-based architecture projects, employ the most architectural staff, and employ the most architects overseas?

The top 10 rankings for fee income and architectural staff numbers show a mixed picture. While the ever-growing Fosters has increased architectural staff in the UK yet again to 1,317 (up 57), five of the practices in the top 10 report a fall, most markedly BDP and AECOM.

However, in terms of architecture fees for UK-based projects, BDP has widened its lead to more than £20 million over its nearest rival, tp bennett.

The re-entry of Gensler – which has 57 offices around the world – to the AJ100 ranks brings a clear new leader to the ranking for architects employed outside the UK. Five of the other top practices in the top 10 saw numbers fall or remain the same. HOK showed the biggest increase – up from 408 to 756.

 

Diversity

Ethnic-minority representation in AJ100 practices continues to gain momentum while the proportion of women architects has edged up

Figures as at 31 December for each year

The AJ100 is continuing to grow in diversity, with further increases in the numbers of women architects and people from ethnic minorities. Together, the 96 practices which reported figures on ethnic minority architects employed 1,223 in 2024, up from 1,111 the previous year and 763 five years earlier. This represents 15.9 per cent of all architects employed by AJ100 practices (up from 14.8 per cent last time), and 17.4 per cent of the practices which reported ethnic minority statistics. This compares with the ARB’s findings that 88 per cent of registered architects in the UK are white, suggesting that AJ100 practices are more likely to employ architects from an ethnic minority background.

There is wide variation in the employment of ethnic minority architects in the AJ100 practices. In absolute terms, Fosters and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) employed the most, with 180 and 118 respectively. As a share of all architects in the practice, HKR Architects leads, with 77 per cent, followed by Pick Everard (39 per cent), ZHA (38 per cent), Leonard Design (36 per cent), Kettle Architects (35 per cent), Hyphen (35 per cent) and Stephen George + Partners (34 per cent). On the other hand, two practices reported employing no architects from an ethnic minority background at all and another five companies only one.

The proportion of AJ100 architects who are women continues to edge up. Women now account for 2,915 (or 38 per cent) of all architects employed in the UK within the cohort, which is 155 higher in absolute numbers, and one percentage point higher as a proportion of the total compared with last year. Again, AJ100 practices outpace the profession as a whole in gender diversity (the ARB reports that 31 per cent of all architects on its register are women).

Among individual practices, 10 report that women are the majority of their architects, compared with seven last year. Veretec leads the way, with 59 per cent. As last year, in five practices fewer than one in five architects is a woman, although none now has less than one in 10. 

 

Sustainability

Progress has been made on measuring embodied carbon and also practices’ own carbon footprints

For the first time, more than half the AJ100 practices report measuring the embodied carbon of their projects, either always or frequently. The biggest rise is in the latter, which rose from 35 to 44 per cent in 2024. This compares with just 14 per cent five years previously. The number of practices which never measure embodied carbon fell from 8 to 6 per cent.

Operational emissions also show a positive trend, although less markedly so. Now 35 per cent of practices measure these frequently, compared with 31 per cent last time and 14 per cent five years before that.

Nearly all (95 per cent) of AJ100 practices now measure their own carbon footprints. This is a rise of 6 per cent and compares with 78 per cent two years previously.

However, the percentage frequently advocating retrofit over demolition surprisingly fell from 65 to 56 per cent. While this could be a concerning trend, it could also be a sign that this advocacy is no longer so necessary, or that practices are making the case for longer-life new builds with low embodied carbon materials over retrofits. There have been marginal rises in the numbers reporting a specific approach to sustainability and delivering sustainability training.

The adoption of Passivhaus continues, with 81 per cent of practices now employing designers with Passivhaus training, compared with 77 per cent the previous year and 70 per cent the year before that. There was also a small rise in practices employing WELL-accredited (up 3 per cent) and LEED (up 2 per cent) professionals, but a slight fall (2 per cent) in those employing BREEAM-accredited professionals.

The number of practices evaluating post-occupancy performance continues to rise (albeit slowly), with 92 per cent doing so to some extent, compared with 74 per cent five years previously. While there was no change in the numbers who always do this (3 per cent), the percentage doing so frequently rose from 11 per cent to 16 per cent. 

Progress on measuring the human and environmental impact of materials appears to have plateaued. This is assessed to some degree by 96 per cent of practices, the same as in the previous year. There is no change in the percentage doing so for all projects, and only a marginal rise in those doing so frequently. 

B-Corp certification among AJ100 practices nearly doubled last year. A total of 15 are now certified and 15 more are in the process of gaining accreditation. 

But membership of other sustainability initiatives presents a mixed picture. While Architects Declare remains the most popular, for the second year running two fewer practices (83) are signatories. AJ100 practices’ membership also fell for the UK Green Building Council (down five to 47) and LETI, the London Energy Transformation Initiative (down two to 38). However, 68 practices have joined the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge, three more than in the previous year. Membership of the Green Register was recorded for the first time (17 practices).

 

Salaries

Median pay has increased across all job categories, with junior roles enjoying relatively greater percentage rises

Median salaries have all increased but, unlike last year, these increases decline in relative terms with greater seniority.  

Year out students are typically paid £26,425, 4.7 per cent more than the previous year, while median pay to Part 3 students is up £1,900 to £34,000, a rise of 5.9 per cent. Architects are typically being paid £1,400 more (a very similar increase to the previous year). Architects’ median pay is now £45,000. 

Associates’ median pay is now £60,000, up £800, which is a smaller rise than last year. At 54 practices, associates typically earned at least £60,000, compared with 49 practices last year and 32 practices in the year before that.   

On average, directors are being paid £1,225 more, taking their median pay to £101,225. Five report paying their partners/directors more than £150,000 a year (one fewer than last year). Like last year, just one practice reported paying their partners/directors less than £60,000.  

Salary satisfaction has slightly increased, with half of respondents to the AJ100 employee survey declaring themselves satisfied with their salary, compared with 47 per cent the previous year. The proportion of those who are either dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied with their salary has fallen from 16 per cent to 12 per cent. 

 

Fees

There has been a change at the top of the table of UK office fees earned per member of architectural staff, where Foster + Partners has overtaken regular leader Populous to lead the rankings

Median fee rates show either no change or very small changes compared with the previous year. Fee rates appear to have been very stable for those reporting them, and any changes that have occurred are reversals of those that happened the year previously. Of the practices reporting UK fees in the AJ100 both this year and last, 52 stated that the fees paid to their UK offices had increased, while 43 reported a decline in fees.

Foster+ Partners has overtaken regular leader Populous to gain top spot in the table of fees earned per member of architectural staff in the UK. Once again, Zaha Hadid Architects is ranked third, with Scott Brownrigg rising to fourth. Both achieve at least £200,000 per member of their architectural staff in architectural fees. 

Overall, 10 practices earned at least £150,000 per member of architectural staff, down from 13 the previous year. At the other end of the scale, just one practice (Leonard Design) earned less than £60,000 per member of architectural staff, compared with three practices the year before. 

Of the 95 practices in both this and last year’s AJ100, 53 increased their income per member of architectural staff in the UK and 42 had reduced incomes for this metric. This compares with 65 and 37 respectively the previous year. Median fees per member of architectural staff were £104,203, a marginal fall on the previous year. 

In terms of income per architect in the UK, 49 of the 95 practices in both this and last year’s AJ100 increased their incomes for this metric and 46 had reduced incomes per architect. 

Populous still heads the charts ranking architectural fees per architect in the UK with £773,907, ahead of Foster + Partners on £705,894. They are followed by WATG, tp bennett and The Harris Partnership, all of which achieved at least £400,000 in fees per architect. Five other practices earned at least £300,000 per UK-based architect. Five practices also earned less than £100,000 per architect, compared with two the previous year, and none the year before that.

The median AJ100 practice reported earning £183,160 in architectural fees per architect (UK offices only), up on the previous year’s median (£174,000).

 

Overseas work

One fifth of AJ100 practices earned at least half of their income from outside the UK in 2024

The majority of AJ100 practices are primarily focused on the UK, with 29 entirely dependent on the UK market. Another 30 earned at least 90 per cent of their income in the UK, compared with 27 and 26 in the previous two years.

Taking overseas earnings paid to both UK and overseas offices into account, 21 of the 104 AJ 100 practices earned at least half of their income from outside the UK, up from 18 and 15 in the previous two years. Architectural fees from overseas projects paid to UK offices totalled £724.8 million, an impressive £240.8 million increase on the previous year’s total (£484 million) and nearly double the increase reported the year before (£122 million). More practices – 68 – contributed to this growing total, compared with 64 in 2023.

As ever, Foster + Partners dominates these earnings, accounting for well over half the total (58.6 per cent). As before, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and Populous also make substantial contributions (£77.2 million and £60.1 million respectively). Together, these three practices account for more than three-quarters (77.6 per cent) of the overseas earnings to UK offices. 

While the majority of the UK offices of AJ100 practices earn all, or the vast majority, of their income from UK projects, seven practices earned at least half their income to UK offices from overseas projects, and four more than 90 per cent: ZHA (99 per cent), WATG (99 per cent), Fosters (92 per cent), Populous (92 per cent).  

Architectural fee earnings were reported to overseas offices by 44 of this year’s AJ100, three up on last year. In total, these offices earned £2.293 billion, which is very substantially up on last year’s £1.335 billion, largely as a result of the inclusion of Gensler (£756.5 million) in the latest data for earnings to offices located outside the UK. Together with Perkins&Will, HOK and Jacobs, these top four earners account for almost 80 per cent of this total.

Among the 75 practices reporting active overseas projects, the proportion working in the western states of the EU fell from 65 to 61 per cent, although this remains the most popular region for overseas work by far. Eastern Europe is an increasingly popular market, with a rise of 3 and 4 per cent among those working in EU and non-EU eastern states respectively.

 

Outlook

A sense of optimism appears to be returning among AJ100 practices

Surprisingly, in view of the uncertain times, optimism has bounced back. Two thirds of AJ100 practices report that they are optimistic to some degree for their businesses in 2025, the highest number for three years. Ten per cent declared they were ‘very optimistic’ in the survey. Meanwhile, only 6 per cent were pessimistic, with one ‘very pessimistic’, compared with 9 per cent which were pessimistic the previous year. As a result of these changes, the percentage of practices that were ‘neutral’ on the scale of optimism fell from 36 to 29 per cent.

 

Hybrid working

AJ100 employees are overwhelmingly satisfied with hybrid working

The AJ100 employee survey revealed a sharp increase in satisfaction about hybrid working practices. The proportion of those who were extremely satisfied in how their practice had adapted to hybrid working rose from 52 per cent to 62 per cent compared with the previous year. Similarly, there was a rise from 54 per cent to 64 per cent in those feeling extremely satisfied about the degree of flexibility they had over when they worked in the office or at home. 

The overall survey found no change in the number of practices which mandated a minimum number of days in the office – this remains 94 per cent. Three days is the most common (57 per cent), while 11 per cent said two days, and 2 per cent only one. Nine per cent of practices required staff to come in five days a week (Gensler, dMFK Architects, Howells, Stiff+Trevillion, JTP, Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson, FaulknerBrowns, Holmes Miller and LSI Architects). 

 

Techniques

Adoption of AI continues apace, particularly for practice operations

The take-up of AI/machine learning is continuing, with 92 per cent of practices now making use of it to some degree, compared with 86 per cent the previous year. Of these, 7 per cent are now using it extensively, up from 3 per cent, and moderate use rose from 28 to 34 per cent. 

Forty eight per cent of those using this technology said they used it for both project work and practice operations, compared with 38 per cent the previous year. Practice operations were the most popular application for AI/machine learning, with 70 per cent using it in that way, compared with 62 per cent last year. Sixty-six per cent used it for project work, up from 58 per cent last time.

Interestingly, the most significant change in other working techniques was in traditional sketching by hand. Those making extensive use of sketching rose from 46 to 51 per cent. Along with BIM, hand-sketching was the only technique used by all practices to at least some degree. Practices’ use, to some extent, of augmented reality and film-making both rose by 5 per cent. Use of virtual reality technology was little changed. 

Use to some degree by AJ100 practices of other techniques not illustrated above include environmental analysis tools (92 per cent), site-surveying/mapping techniques (87 per cent) and animations (91 per cent).

 

Architectural assistants and apprentices

The number of architectural apprentices at AJ100 practices leapt by a fifth in 2024

Numbers of architectural apprentices at AJ100 practices rose significantly in 2024 from 283 to 342 – a leap of 21 per cent. As was the case last year, Fosters had the most, employing 30 (up from 24). Seventy practices employ at least one.

However, it’s a different story for the numbers of Part 1 architectural assistants (including Part 1 apprentices) overall employed by AJ100 practices in the UK. These were down 16 per cent to 685, and down by 20 per cent from two years previously. While employment of Part 2s (including Part 2 apprentices) is only marginally down (from 1,643 to 1,624) over 2024, this figure is 10 per cent lower than in 2023. 

It is perhaps concerning that Part 1 and Part 2 assistants are accounting for a diminishing share of the AJ100’s collective architectural staff in the UK – 17.4 per cent, down from 18.7 per cent the previous year. However, in some practices the share is much higher, accounting for at least a third of the architectural workforce. They are: Populous (63 per cent), HKR Architects (59 per cent), BPTW (45 per cent), Ridge and Partners (36 per cent) and rg+p (36 per cent). 

Predictably, Fosters once again had by far the most of these Part 1s and Part 2s, employing a total of 344, up from 219. Populous, with 117, employs the second most, followed by BDP, which has 71. Stephen George + Partners reported the fewest, with just two (both Part 2s).