Having developed a unique business model whilst establishing its brand both in terms of sector awareness and geographically, Aedas feels confident as it enters the New Year. RLI talks to CEO David Roberts to find out why.
Last year was a very interesting year for global architectural practice Aedas, one that saw an increase in business activity, particularly in Asia, the company’s biggest market, and increased consolidation in Europe, the Middle East and America. Growth throughout 2011, though modest, has been positive and it is expected that this trend will continue throughout 2012.
“I suppose the word this year is ‘consolidation’,” explains Chief Executive Officer David Roberts. “For many of our peers, this has meant getting smaller; for us it means becoming more focused and using the time and opportunity to increase our quality whilst aligning the business to much more of a design-led approach.”
It is fair to say that 2011 was a transformational year for Aedas; the brand is now ten years old and despite everything, many initiatives and strategies were brought together, and an established global business model emerged.
With this in mind, the company enters 2012 in what would seem to be its strongest position to date. Companies that have been reliant on a particular sector or geographic location, and their work thus reduced, may well be feeling a lot of pain. Aedas’ model is different. It is not reliant on any one sector or geography, and this has to some degree isolated it from the very worse of
the recession.
So how has the brand’s portfolio altered over the past few years?
“I think you have to take it market by market,” says Roberts. “In Asia, we have seen a big increase in what I’d call mixed commercial development, of which a major component will of course always be retail, and the scope in the Chinese market alone is enormous.”
The dynamics of retail and mixed use commercial has definitely been the strongest in those emerging developing markets. What has been seen in terms of the more mature markets is a focus on sectors such as education or
cityside projects.
 
“There’s certainly been a contraction there in terms of reduced spending by governments,” adds Roberts. “At the same time, we’ve been able to balance out that contraction, with an increase in
commercial work.”
The nature of that commercial work isn’t always new building work; a lot is adaptive and re-used, particularly in markets like Western European and London. Interestingly, the fastest-growing part of this business over the past 12 months has been its interiors group; what began as a relatively small team in London has grown rapidly throughout Asia and the Middle East.
www.aedas.com
For the full article, please see the March 2012 issue.
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