Majority of firms in latest RIBA survey expect profit to fall in coming year

More than one in 10 London-based architects think covid-19 could send their firms under.

The latest RIBA Future Trends survey reveals 14% of architects in the capital, the hotbed of the profession in this country, will not survive the pandemic.

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The RIBA鈥檚 latest Future Trends survey says 14% of London firms think they鈥檒l go under

London firms are the most pessimistic about their chances of surviving the crisis with just 7% of firms nationwide suggesting they might collapse.

The majority of firms are also expecting profit to head south in the coming year with 70% of respondents expecting bottom lines to slip.

But the survey鈥檚 workload index rose to -17 this month after dropping to -49 in May and a historic low of -82 in April.

Adrian Malleson, RIBA head of economic research and analysis, said: 鈥淚n June we saw an increase in some architects鈥� confidence and the early signs of returning workloads.

鈥淢ore sites are beginning to reopen and practices, particularly those in the residential sector, reported a sharp rise in new enquires.鈥�

And 13% expect workloads to increase in the coming three months, up from just 2% in April, although 62% expect work to fall in the next quarter.

The survey also revealed that the percentage of furloughed staff in the industry fell to 19% in June from the 22% recorded the month before.

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