Keppie Design to close two Scottish offices

Keppie DesignArchitecture firm Keppie Design is to close studios in Aberdeen, Perth and Manchester in a bid to “dramatically reduce” its costs.

The practice, which posted a £528k pre-tax loss to 31 July 2015, said 25 jobs were at risk of redundancy and is currently consulting with those affected.

Offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness will remain unaffected.

Keppie is behind the design of the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) though a spokeswoman for the company insisted there was “absolutely no impact at all on the AECC project as this is – and always has been – run from Keppie’s Glasgow office”.



Keppie's plan for the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre
Keppie’s plan for the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre

Construction on the 12,500-capacity venue is expected to start in July and be completed by spring 2019.

A spokesperson for Keppie Design said: “After careful consideration, we have chosen to restructure the business and are currently in consultation with 25 employees in Aberdeen, Manchester and Perth on the proposed closure of these offices. This period of consultation started on Wednesday 1 June will last until Wednesday 15 June.

“It is important to highlight that Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness offices and staff will not be affected by this. It is also important to emphasise that this decision has been made to strengthen the business and allow us to move forward from an even more solid and more secure base. Keppie Design has a great heritage, a very talented team who are involved in lots of exciting projects, and have a bright future ahead. The proposal to close these three offices would dramatically reduce our overheads, allowing us to protect the business for the future and move forward from a position of increased stability.”



Keppie Design currently employs 53 architects spread across seven UK offices. In March the firm forged an alliance with Stride Treglown and Todd Architects known as 431 Architecture this was a bid to help them win significant new business.


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