21 July 2022 · By Kate Youde
Glasgow and Berlin-based practice Hoskins Architects has handed ownership of the practice to its employees
The practice has created Hoskins Architects Group Ltd as sole owner of Gareth Hoskins Architects Ltd and the newly established Hoskins Planungs GmbH in Germany.
Its 45 employees own Hoskins Architects Group Ltd via an employee ownership trust. Previously, it was owned by three individual shareholders.
The last decade has seen significant changes at the practice including, in 2016, the death of its respected founder Gareth Hoskins at the age of 48, following a heart attack.
Hoskins Architects said in a statement that it had ‘restructured to better reflect its growing international business and, at the same time, transitioned to employee-ownership in a move that enshrines our long-held company ethos, reflecting our core vision and collaborative, collegiate approach to our work.
‘The process has been driven by a desire to engender a sense of ownership across our team, rewarding the loyalty and low staff turnover our practice has always enjoyed, and to recognise the positive contribution that every member of our team makes.’
The new German company has taken on all of the business previously carried out in Europe by the former independent branch office in Berlin.
The practice is far from alone in turning to a John Lewis-style model of ownership. The AJ revealed earlier this year that there were 110 RIBA chartered businesses owned by employee trusts in 2021, up from 75 in 2020.
Converts last year included Zaha Hadid Architects, Hawkins\Brown and Purcell.
But not everyone is convinced it is a good move for the sector. The Section of Architectural Workers at the United Voices of the World Union, said earlier this year that its members had mixed experiences of employee ownership.
‘Employee-owned trusts do not really divest power from business-owners to their employees as the owners choose the way it is set up,’ said union comms co-ordinator Will Stephens at the time. ‘This will not lead to the redress of power that we believe is needed in the architectural industry.’
Hoskins Architects said it had ‘embraced’ the opportunity to transfer ownership ‘to secure the long-term, sustainable future’ of the practice.
Tags employee ownership Gareth Hoskins Hoskins Architects
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