Practice makes loss of 拢720,000 after one-off 拢1.4m tax payment but describes drop in revenue as a 鈥渂lip鈥�
Architectural practice Adjaye Associates has insisted it is 鈥渇eeling bullish鈥� after reporting a loss of 拢720,000 and a downturn in revenue during the year that its founder David Adjaye faced allegations of sexual misconduct.
The practice said its pre-tax profit margin would have stayed in the black without a one-off payment of 拢1.46m made after 鈥渞eviewing claims for withholding taxes from foreign jurisdictions鈥�.
The firm鈥檚 latest accounts, covering for the year to 31 December 2023, cover the period when Adjaye was accused of sexual misconduct towards three women, which he has consistently denied.
The accusations, first published in the Financial Times, led to the practice being dropped from a number of high profile projects including the 拢57m International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.
The fallout from the story also led to Adjaye stepping down from a number of key roles including as design advocate for the Mayor of London and a ceremonial association with architecture school the African Futures Institute.
> Also read: Adjaye London CEO Lucy Tilley: 鈥榃e鈥檒l work even harder to carry on our legacy. We鈥檒l keep going鈥�
But the RIBA Gold Medal-winning architect made no mention of the allegations in the accounts, instead blaming the firm鈥檚 performance on a 鈥渃ommercially challenging year for the construction industry at large鈥�, adding that a global economic slowdown had led to 鈥渄elays on a number of significant projects鈥�.
While turnover dropped from 拢20.5m to 拢17.1m, a spokesperson for the practice described the fall in revenue as a 鈥渂lip鈥� and said the firm was 鈥渇eeling confident and carrying on鈥�.
鈥淲e had a storm thrown at us and we toughed it out,鈥� the spokesperson said, admitting that 2023 had been 鈥減ossibly the worst year that any architecture firm could have gone through鈥�.
The firm also claimed that a cut in staff numbers during the accounting period from 96 to 85 was relatively minor given the circumstances, while describing its profit margin as 鈥渃ommendable鈥� if the one-off tax payment was excluded.
The spokesperson declined to comment on the tax payment, which the firm blamed for sending its pre-tax profit tumbling into the red from 拢2.5m in 2022.
Turnover in the practice鈥檚 two largest markets also fell during the period, from 拢14m to 拢13m in the Middle East and from 拢4.8m to just 拢892,000 in Asia.
However, income rose in Africa from 拢261,400 to 拢1.46m and from 684,000 to 拢984,000 in the UK.
The firm paid a dividend of 拢1.9m during the year. Adjaye is listed as the sole director of the company, which is majority owned by its parent company Adjaye Holdings Limited, which is in turn majority owned by Adjaye.
Major projects completed by the practice during 2023 included the King Salman Park Visitor Centre in Riyadh, the George Street Plaza and Community 微密圈 in Sydney and a residential tower in New York called 130 William.
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