UK architecture benchmarking report 2026
The UK architecture sector showed resilience through 2025, but with momentum clearly moderating as the year progressed. Revenue continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace, against a backdrop of softer private housing demand, planning delays and a more cautious development environment. As confidence weakened into the second half of the year, practices increasingly shifted their focus from volume‑led growth to tighter operational control, selectivity and margin protection.
Our latest benchmarking report draws on financial data from a representative sample of architecture practices, including both our clients and firms featured in the AJ100. The report explores how firms are responding to a cooling market, examining trends in revenue growth, productivity, cost pressures, principal performance and profitability, alongside wider industry indicators such as workload sentiment and construction output. While staff utilisation improved at the lower end of the market, on average, cost inflation and structural overheads continued to weigh on operating margins, reinforcing the importance of discipline in fee recovery, resourcing and investment decisions.
In our analysis of revenue metrics, including revenue per employee and revenue per principal, we excluded data points at the upper extreme of the population. This approach ensures that the results are more comparable across firms and present a more accurate reflection of typical performance. One notable outlier achieved unusually high revenue per employee and principal through sub-contracting international projects, boosting revenue without a corresponding increase in internal headcount. By removing such anomalies, our findings provide a clearer and more realistic benchmark for the industry.
Looking ahead, the report also considers the emerging outlook for the sector, including early signs of stabilisation in workloads, the potential impact of planning reform and the implications of net zero requirements and ongoing skills shortages. Together, these insights provide a practical benchmark for principals and leadership teams assessing their own performance and positioning their practices for a more challenging, but opportunity‑rich, operating environment.
You can view and download the full UK Architecture Sector Benchmarking Report 2026 here:
How we support architecture practices
Moore Kingston Smith works closely with many architecture practices, providing bespoke benchmarking, remuneration and structuring advice, strategic growth support, technology and compliance risk advisory, and financial planning for principals.
We have access to a wide range of data and can provide bespoke, tailored benchmarking reports for your practice and expand on further interesting KPIs. If this would be of interest to you, please contact us.
