The Danish firm’s UK arm ended 2025 deep in the red following what it called a ‘challenging end’ to the year ending 31 December 2025, according to newly published files at Companies House. The trading loss amounted to a 238 per cent fall from the £3 million profit the Finsbury Avenue-based studio posted in 2024.

The biggest individual hit to the practice’s balance sheet was a £5.3 million international tax write-off.

Directors explained the loss was ‘primarily driven’ by tax that had been automatically deducted from BIG’s fees by clients in Saudi Arabia between 2021 and 2024, which the firm has now been forced to admit it could not get back.

The financial statements noted: ‘During the financial year, the company recognised a write-off relating to withholding tax deducted by customers based in foreign jurisdiction. The tax deducted is no longer considered recoverable, due to the customer’s contractual position and the company’s inability to secure reimbursement through local tax mechanisms.

‘As a result, the withheld amount has been written off in full and presented as an exceptional item within the profit and loss account, owing to its materiality and non-recurring nature.’

On top of the tax hit, the abrupt cancellation of a major project and the resulting redundancies cost BIG just under £440,000 – a second blow that contributed to the London office’s loss.

The accounts stated that  BIG had been ‘unable to recover certain amounts relating to work performed up to the termination date [of the major project] and agreed a commercial discount with the customer as part of the exit arrangements’.

Demonstrators outside BIG’s London office protest against planned redundancies

Source: Gino Spocchia

As the AJ reported earlier this year, the shock halt to a Red Sea scheme and resulting redundancy programme had led to a walk-out backed by Unite the Union and the Section of Architectural Workers (SAW). The practice had considered cutting up to 72 jobs at the time.

It appears the accounts relate to the period just before the main rounds of its ‘reductions in headcount’. Documents filed at Companies House actually show an increase in the average number of employees over the reporting period (the year to 31 December 2025), rising from 162 staff members in 2024 to 202.

BIG told the AJ that 50 employees accepted a voluntary redundancy package, while a further 10 employees were made redundant.

The tax issues and the start of the redundancy programme meant that, despite a 15 per cent surge in annual revenue, there was still a significant loss. In the year ending 31 December 2025, BIG’s UK turnover rose to £32 million, up from £27.9 million in 2024.

Only £1.45 million of that fee income was made on UK projects.

BIG said in a business review preceding the accounts: ‘In 2025, results were negatively affected by the unexpected pause of the company’s largest contract, resulting in financial losses and the need for reductions in headcount.’

The statement added: ‘Operations in BIG UK Ltd continue to be affected by the general depression in the Middle East Market in early 2026. UK cross-border taxation proved to be a significant challenge in 2025 and is expected to remain an area of complexity going forward.’

Addressing its reliance on the region, BIG said: ‘The directors expect the company to return to profit in 2026 and continue to actively monitor project pipeline, including opportunities currently under negotiation, while taking steps to minimise its fixed cost base.’

In the UK, BIG’s London studio remains associated with the stalled 120 Fleet Street redevelopment of the former Express building, which secured planning consent in 2021 but has not progressed, and the masterplan for Dockside Canada Water, where plans for a 24-storey building designed by the practice won planning consent in September 2023.

The filed figures added that BIG’s Danish parent company had ‘confirmed its intention to provide financial support as and when required for at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements’.

tp bennett (left), HWKN Architecture (middle right) and Bjarke Ingels Group’s (back right) consented scheme at Canada Water

Source: Art-Invest Real Estate