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And now, after last year鈥檚 management buyout, he鈥檚 dragged the practice back into profit. Katie Puckett talks to him about winning the trust of bank managers and the power of positive thinking.

Liddle (centre) with fellow directors Caroline Buckingham (left) and Karen Mosley (right)

HLM Architects鈥� story is a dramatic saga of tough times, failed relationships and thwarted dreams. In the past five years, its management has weathered a failed stock market flotation, cut 10% of its workforce and sold out to US namesake HLM Design 鈥� only to stage a bloody management buyback two years later, when the UK arm of the merged company went into receivership.

Now, after its first full year since the buyout, it鈥檚 back in the black 鈥� which makes this an ideal time to ask chairman Chris Liddle, who鈥檚 been with the company since 1981, what it is that鈥檚 kept him going when many would have thrown in the towel.

But it soon becomes clear that Liddle is not a negative thinker.

In fact, he is relentlessly upbeat, putting a philosophical spin on disappointments, and turning negative questions smoothly into positives. 鈥淧eople criticise me for always being so positive. Maybe I鈥檓 scared of not being. Everyone has their off days, everyone gets pissed off, but I can鈥檛 afford to get like that. I have a responsibility not to walk into a room with that attitude because it will affect everyone else so badly.鈥�

For Liddle, HLM鈥檚 story isn鈥檛 the roller-coaster ride it might appear. 鈥淭his term 鈥榬oller-coaster鈥� 鈥� it鈥檚 not really quite like that,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n the late 1980s, early 1990s, businesses were going down at 100 miles an hour, and architects were very exposed. We rescued the company. We then had 10 years of solid growth before we sold to the Americans in 2002. That merger gave us high hopes 鈥� they were a plc and they already had about eight or nine offices in the States. But there just wasn鈥檛 the infrastructure and the financial backing to carry the whole thing through, and some colleagues took their foot off the pedals. On 19 March 2004, we ended up buying up the company. So 1992 to 2004 isn鈥檛 a roller-coaster.鈥�

Risking it all

Nevertheless, Liddle has been through some difficult times. After taking over as chairman in 1992, he sold his house to help repay 拢1.3m of debt accrued in the recession, and lived with his young family 鈥� he has seven children ranging from 29 to 11 鈥� in the Sheffield office for a year. The company was saved, but his next idea, acquiring listed advertising company Osprey to form a 鈥渢otal branding鈥� consultancy called RockArchimedia, was thwarted by the dotcom crash in 2000, putting his stock market hopes on hold.

He dismisses the Osprey idea now as 鈥渁 bit of a red herring鈥�. 鈥淭he idea was, if you can manage designers then why can鈥檛 you have a firm that manages like-minded design people, and have a service to clients that鈥檚 as much about brand as about building? Maybe that鈥檚 a bit naive 鈥� nobody was interested.鈥�

Liddle鈥檚 self-belief remains unbowed by the knocks he鈥檚 taken. The hardest lesson, he says, is to trust his instincts. 鈥淲hen I trust myself I鈥檓 right, and the minute you get swayed by other arguments 鈥� It鈥檚 important to look to yourself and what you believe in.鈥�

People said 鈥榯he last thing you want to do is employ your friends鈥�. That鈥檚 absolute bollocks

Chris Liddle, HLM

But getting funding for last year鈥檚 buyout meant convincing the banks as well. Liddle says the deal with the Americans brought to an end a 鈥渇antastic鈥� 10-year relationship with Barclays. Finances were centralised, and accounting became the subject of 鈥渋ntensive discussions鈥�. 鈥淲hen you join a firm where financial management is spread across the Atlantic, you鈥檙e going to get problems,鈥� he says.

He emphasises that when he approached HSBC to fund the buyout last year, he had banked with them personally since he was 18. 鈥淚t required a bit of bottle on both sides,鈥� says Liddle. 鈥淵ou have to believe in people don鈥檛 you? Banks put their trust in people.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 quite that simple 鈥� a much more tightly focused business plan and strong forward order book played a big part, as did Liddle鈥檚 decision once again to put his house on the line. 鈥淚t was obviously scary 鈥� for a minute. But it鈥檚 about belief, about leading from the front and being over the top first.鈥�

Relationships and trust are a theme Liddle returns to again and again. Much of his confidence, he says, comes from the other nine directors at HLM, who all contributed an equal share to the buyout and most of whom he has worked with for more than 20 years. When he set up the Sheffield office in 1982, Liddle deliberately employed his friends from university. 鈥淧eople said 鈥榯he last thing you want to do is employ your friends鈥�. That鈥檚 absolute bollocks, you just have to be able to deal with it if it goes wrong.鈥�

Love and loyalty

But how does Liddle鈥檚 wife feel about having to stake the family鈥檚 assets on the business? Liddle is initially reluctant to admit the depth of his family鈥檚 commitment to the firm, but in fact, he is married to Caroline Buckingham (pictured far left), a fellow architect and board member who joined HLM in 1984. He says HLM鈥檚 clients are aware of the relationship 鈥� and when one of the US managers asked them to conceal it, Liddle told him in no uncertain terms that he found that insulting. But he is wary of how it might be perceived. 鈥淚n a business such as ours people make the wrong assumptions. They might think we鈥檙e married so she鈥檚 a director because I鈥檓 a chairman 鈥� crap like that.鈥�

And he resents any belittling of Buckingham鈥檚 contribution to the business. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a board of directors with two very powerful women on it, and there鈥檚 nothing better. Caroline and Karen [Mosley, pictured right] were pivotal in acquiring the business, more than any of the guys. They鈥檝e got common sense, business acumen and Karen鈥檚 legally qualified.鈥� It was Buckingham and Mosley who completed the buyout deal with the receivers. 鈥淥n the day of the deal, all the blokes were in the pub saying 鈥榳hat鈥檚 going on?鈥� Caroline got home at 4.30am 鈥� I waited up.鈥�

When asked if he ever worried if he was in the wrong game, he says: 鈥淵ou feel a great responsibility for your staff and your clients and sometimes you feel that on your own. But the great advantage is, I鈥檝e been able to share that not only with the person I live with but with eight other people as well.鈥�

Liddle is proud that many of HLM鈥檚 employees have returned after leaving for new jobs, and that the firm鈥檚 clients have stood by it throughout the merger crisis, and credits HLM鈥檚 鈥渕otivational culture鈥�. 鈥淭he hardest thing for me was to make sure we were effervescing that level of self-belief and then injecting it like a syringe full of adrenalin into the arms of all the team.鈥�

But for all his energy, Liddle is shelving any grand expansion plans to focus on controlled growth and improving design quality and satisfaction among HLM鈥檚 largely public-sector client base in justice, healthcare, education and defence. He is determined not to repeat past mistakes 鈥� the company will not be taking on work it can鈥檛 complete, and the designers on the board will still work on projects. Liddle himself is working for Land Securities Trillium on a PFI defence project and on the Bethlem Royal Hospital. 鈥淲e want to be able to feel the edges of the business again. If you鈥檙e running a people business and you can鈥檛 feel the edges, it鈥檚 very dangerous.鈥�