burohappold engineering Annual review 2015
annual review SECTOR: CULTURE
National 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion New York, NY, USA
ENGINEERING THE AMAZING I mage: Jeff Goldbergmage: Jeff E STO burohappold engineering Annual review 2015
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S a note from about INTRODUCTION the chairman burohappold engineering
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beyond engineering a year of engineering highlights the amazing
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FINANCIAL the essence OVERVIEW of burohappold
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S INTRODUCTION
Our year began with a bang. In fact, our driven, world-leading engineering professionals For the first time in 39 years we revealed a refreshed brand are not only a global community of technical experts for the business, moving from a collection of independent that have mastered traditional specialisms, but are also entities and specialisms called Buro Happold, to a cohesive integrators, who bring people together to lead and body with common goals under the name BuroHappold communicate holistic, ‘total problem’ solutions. The days of Engineering. silo-like engineering thinking are waning. We have moved to a platform of service offers that prompt the client to think The truth is, as engineers, we have been client and project wider, such as Green & Efficient Design, Intelligent Re-use of focused, rather than examining ourselves to ensure we are Buildings, City Diagnostics & Strategy, Integrated Design and building the kind of business we want to be, and indeed, the Inspirational Design to name some. kind of international, multi-disciplinary business our clients expect us to be. Our ingenuity is employed for revitalising failing cities or pioneering master plans for emerging cities. Our people-flow The success of this year has been a testament to the specialists can move a million people across the desert with galvanising force our new brand has signalled. We are on ease. Our innovators engineer facades that absorb pollution, the journey and there is more to come. create performance venues lauded as the best acoustic The foundations to the rebrand were based on our ‘Essence’ experience in the world, or re-engineer a stadium from being formed from client and stakeholder research. In this we single use athletics, to multi-purpose athletics, football and were described by our clients as ‘passionate’, ‘innovative’, rock concerts. We employ economists and planners who can ‘collaborative’, ‘magic’. Marrying these qualities with wider help to create flexible financial strategies, specialists whose societal implications reflecting our culture, our essence is skills range from water management through to material now the mirror we hold up to ourselves. It is there to ensure science, and serial innovators who help us to find our unique that we continue to pursue the simple honest truth in our solutions to our clients’ unique problems. work, and in our dealings with one another. In turn this allows On this foundation, and given the agility of our integrated us to bridge the gap between science and society and forge service provision across the globe, the year ahead looks meaningful and lasting global relationships that benefit all. ever brighter. There is a special magic to the engineering mind. Our teams tackle complex issues head on. We don’t just look for obvious answers; we question, investigate and challenge our clients to look wider than the immediate space of their projects. How can projects yield greater rewards, whether they be financial, societal or environmental, beyond the certain technical ones? It is this combination of innovation and bravery that is helping us to create a future that is Roger Nickells, CEO solution-led, not problem driven. 4 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015
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“Our essence is now the mirror we hold up to ourselves. It is there to ensure that we continue to pursue the simple honest truth in our work, and in our dealings with one another. In turn this allows us to bridge the gap between science and society and forge meaningful and lasting global relationships that benefit all.”
Roger Nickells, CEO I mage: BuroHappold E ngineering
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a note from the chairman
Roger Nickells took on the role of CEO in June 2014 and Another key factor that ensures we provide our clients has delivered a year of spectacular success, with growth, with the very best and most creative solutions is our and a clarity of purpose that inspire a sense of confidence continued commitment to research and development. and ambition. This past year saw a 37% increase in our funding of Our success is built on the quality of the service we research projects to support our project work and provide our clients. Our projects are all led by Partners maintain a leading role in development of new ideas and who own and lead the activities of the business; we are new technologies. This investment embraces partnering engineers, consultants and specialists – some of the with Universities around the world as well as supporting best in the world. We all have a close working knowledge internal research communities that connect our people of our industry, our clients and our people, working around crucial practice-wide research projects. Such in partnership to make sure we deliver our vision. projects range from development of numerical modelling Partnership is core to achieving the quality of service that tools that allow us to predict the technical performance BuroHappold provides, the commitment to excellence of clients’ projects well ahead of execution, to developing and responsiveness to market opportunities and enables ways to better assess the health and wellbeing of people us to operate an international business characterised by in the buildings and spaces that we create. This allows us innovative, effective and high value solutions. to serve our clients in ways that have not been possible before and raises the quality and value of our service. This success comes of course from our people, who bring energy and passion to all they do. This year we initiated the “Essence of BuroHappold Awards” to recognise individuals and teams who have shown exceptional spirit in the way they have collaborated, striven for excellence, innovated, or simply blown us away with their achievements. It has been a joy to read all the nominations that come in from far and wide and to read the stories. Our people select Mike Cook, Chairman the final winners – and they are both diverse and inspiring. This year we also saw Young Engineer Forums spring into action in all our offices – our young people are showing us just how keen they are to make a difference in society and we are keen to support them with time and money to get into society and share their skills. We established a “Share our Skills” programme to lead this.
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15 19 18 11 14 117 905 O ON A T AR U K Q T K UWAI BO ST BEI J ING C HI AGO POLAND DEN M AR K S AN F RAN C I SC S Y ONG OR K IA YS HONG K UAE NEW Y INDIA GER M AN KS A S ANGELE LO M ILAN M ALA 108 55 94 1 52 161 65 104 1
BUROHAPPOLD ENGINEERING staff numbers around the world 8 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015
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“So it has been a great year both in terms of building our essential commercial strength, and also for building our inner strength, that comes from the motivation and passion of our people and their growing skill base.”
Mike Cook, Chairman I mage: BuroHappold E ngineering / James Cheadle
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BuroHappold Engineering is an international, multidisciplinary engineering consultancy operating in 24 locations worldwide, with over 50 partners and 1,750 staff including some of the world’s leading consulting engineers.
For 40 years we’ve been building our reputation for delivering creative, value led building and city solutions for an ever changing world.
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beyond engineering
SHARE OUR SKILLS PROGRAMME Young Engineers Forum
BuroHappold has a long history of supporting those less Set up by our younger engineers and technicians, Young fortunate than ourselves. We understand that our staff Engineers’ Forums now exist in all our offices to help and have sought to deliver support through internal groups support all junior BuroHappold staff in their professional such as the International Development Community and personal development. Forums are run locally (IDC), through project work when the opportunity and connected globally to provide a focus for activity arose, and indeed in their own time. The BuroHappold throughout the entire organisation. community support involvement in, and championing The Young Engineers Forum is here to: of, development activities. • Act as a support and communication network for all This programme allows employees to carry out non-fee junior staff paying work, during BuroHappold time. The aim being to offer our skills and services to those who need it most. • Be a forum for sharing knowledge and experience • Promote BuroHappold’s young professionals externally.
Happold Foundation essence of burohappold awards
The Happold Foundation was established in 1995 by In January 2014 we launched the Essence of the late Sir Ted Happold and the founding partners of BuroHappold awards: a programme created to BuroHappold. celebrate our people and projects around the globe Ted and the founding partners had always believed and sponsored by our chairman, Mike Cook. that a firm such as BuroHappold exists to support The awards were inspired by the refreshed brand and the needs of society beyond its immediate activity as an in depth look at the values of the practice which a professional practice in the built environment. The we termed “the Essence of BuroHappold”. They have Happold Foundation is therefore a registered charity allowed us to celebrate some of the great people and with an independent Board of Trustees, some of whom teams working in the practice, creating a stronger also work for BuroHappold. global community, striving for excellence and bridging The Partners of BuroHappold donate a portion of science and society. It has now become an annual annual profit to the Foundation to pursue its mission. event involving a panel of international judges and final selection of the winner by the staff.
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Share Our Skills programme Courtney Crosson, a senior sustainability consultant in our LA office, has been leading a project to deliver rural schools in Haiti alongside the LA-MAS organisation.
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YEF (Young Engineers Forum) Graduate engineers around the world reach out to schools – inspiring the next generation of problem-solving creative engineers.
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Happold Foundation Sponsored by the Happold Foundation Global Travel Scholarship, Eleanor Davies was one of seven Cambridge engineering students who worked on a summer development project in Tanzania to design and construct the first simplified sewerage network in East Africa. burohappold engineering Annual review 2015
The Essence Awards Mike Cook (right) presenting Nilesh Arjun Kudtarkar his award as Winner of the Outstanding Individual of 2015. 18 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015
a year of highlights
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2014 2015 2014 2015 £128.1m £148.5m £15.2m £18.0m
turnover Operating profit increased bY increased bY 16% 18%
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worked in 60 countries
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1brand refreshed
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23 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015 I mage: Zhong Ming
Engineering for future generations
Nanjing Youth Olympic Centre (YOC) Nanjing, China
One challenge of this project was to express the fluid forms of this unique Zaha Hadid design. To achieve it we developed a complex series of graduated concrete panels set over a steel framework.
SECTOR: hospitality
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SECTOR: RAIL INTERCHANGE
Engineering the world’s most energy efficient transport hub Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center Anaheim, California, USA
This centre forms a hub for California’s future high-speed rail network, commuter and regional transport lines and Amtrak. We engineered a visually dramatic roof over the grand hall with the largest expanse of ETFE polymer ever used in North America, chosen for its light and heat insulation qualities. I mage: HOK
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27 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015 I mage: Philip Handworth
Engineering the world’s largest green building development
King Abdullah Financial District Riyadh, KSA
As the most significant commercial real estate development in Saudi Arabia the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) will cover an area of 1.6km². Our engineering supports 18 of the buildings to world leading sustainability. The development is a step change in urban commercial environments and it will enable progressive development of society for Saudi Arabia.
SECTOR: COMMERCIAL OFFICE / retail
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sector: CULTURE
Engineering prestigious cultural facilities, connecting the past, present and future King Abdulazziz Center for World Culture Dhahran, KSA
Achieving the natural forms of the five connected ‘pebble’ shaped buildings was the first challenge. For the next, we used thermal modelling to inform our solution in creating comfortable, multi-functional auditoriums and exhibition environments by integrating a ‘shade veil’ over the facades to deal with the sun’s heat. I mage: Phillip Handforth
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31 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015 I mage: BuroHappold E ngineering A masterpiece in progress Museum of the Future Dubai, UAE
Work in progress. This extraordinary building will be finished with an intricately-designed reflective facade.
SECTOR: CULTURE
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SECTOR: COMMERCIAL OFFICE
Engineering the greenest tower in the world The Tower at PNC Plaza Pittsburgh, PA, USA
A complex combination of passive and low carbon strategies makes PNC a remarkable engineering achievement. A double skin facade assists natural ventilation and a floor plate which gives maximum daylight reducing energy use, are just two elements that contribute to its success. I mage: Gensler
34 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015 I mage: A lan W illiams
Engineering to enhance Whitworth Art Gallery Manchester, UK
Our work on this involved an intelligent combination of passive (non-powered) humidification and cooling methods, and low or zero carbon technologies, to create climate-comfortable spaces and preserve collection exhibits.
SECTOR: CULTURE
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SECTOR: Culture Engineering venues for outstanding performance The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Poland
BuroHappold’s structural engineering and mechanical & electrical teams brought global knowledge to this project to enhance the audience experience and to meet stringent acoustics requirements. It was recently awarded the ‘best new cultural building in Poland’. I mage: Bartek Barczyk mage: Bartek
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SECTOR: sports & entertainment Engineering to create an amazing experience Fisht Olympic Stadium Sochi, Russia
Our work on this stadium meant planning ahead for its intended three lives: a 40,000 capacity Olympic stadium, a venue for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals, and as a home for the Russian national football team in winter. It also spearheads a drive for a level of sustainability not seen before in Russia. I mage: Populous
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SECTOR: COMMERCIAL OFFICE
Engineering outstanding corporate headquarters One Angel Square Manchester, UK
This is an award winning, highly sustainable, extremely low carbon space. We helped it to achieve its status as the first building to receive a BREEAM Outstanding I mage: Palin I rating by employing a holistic approach to ‘smart’ building strategies. mages
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SECTOR: HOSPITALITY
Engineering the complex with style Hotel D, City of Dreams Macau, China
The extraordinary engineering complexity of the remarkable steel exo-skeleton for this six star, 42 storey hotel design by Zaha Hadid Associates, is self-evident. I mages: Zaha Hadid A rchitects
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SECTOR: COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL
Engineering urban regeneration Battersea Redevelopment London, UK
Despite being an historic London icon, this building hasn’t generated power since 1983. Our challenge with the redevelopment was to preserve its character, whilst unlocking a difficult site. Engineering the UK’s largest retail development, as well as providing residential, commercial and leisure spaces – is a huge undertaking and will completely transform this once run down area into a lively community, central to the London landscape. I mage: BuroHappold E ngineering
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Engineering urban regeneration
Millennium Dome / The O2 and the Greenwich Peninsula London, UK
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Engineering urban regeneration
Shortlisted competition entry for the Nine Elms to Pimlico Bridge Crossing. London, UK
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47 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015 I mages: BuroHappold E ngineering / W ilfried Dechau ilfried
Engineering that connects communities Baakenhafen Bridge Hafen City, Hamburg, Germany
This multi-award winning project is a strikingly elegant landmark. Its gently curved form fits harmoniously into its surroundings and provides spacious recreational areas for pedestrians on undulating walkways. It fulfils the diverse requirements of a modern urban development, as well as the highest demands for sustainability.
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1
a) The barge is positioned under the bridge span. Baakenhafen Bridge Hafen City, Hamburg, Germany
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b) The rising tide lifts the 30m deck. Baakenhafen Bridge Hafen City, Hamburg, Germany
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c) Providing an ingenious solution. Baakenhafen Bridge Hafen City, Hamburg, Germany
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d) Cost effective and sustainable. Baakenhafen Bridge Hafen City, Hamburg, Germany
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SECTOR: CIVIC
Engineering that rejuvinates The High Line New York, NY, USA
BuroHappold and Field Operations created a masterplan for the reuse and reintegration of this railroad. Inspired by the wild beauty of the derelict line, the team reimagined this industrial pathway through the city as a route for leisure, life and growth, doing away with the need for demolition and instead enriching peoples’ lives. I mage: nimdok, flickr mage: nimdok,
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Engineering learning facilities to inspire the leaders of tomorrow Yale University, School of Management New Haven, CT, USA
We engineered the structural steel system, using slim interior vertical elements and intricate connections, to achieve the demanding architectural vision for this large facility. It creates light and airy spaces offering unobstructed views of the courtyard from the dramatic, I mage: Chuck Choi A four-storey, glass, curved facades.
SECTOR: HIGHER EDUCATION rchitectural Photography
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57 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015 I mages: BuroHappold E ngineering
Engineering a living museum Atturaif Ad-Diriyah, KSA
This is a series of stunning historic oasis settlements situated in Wadi Hanifah, itself an area of outstanding natural beauty. Leading an international team of specialists, we developed the historical district plan. Our team’s intervention and leadership has been instrumental in Atturaif being inscribed as a cultural site into UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
SECTOR: CULTURE
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59 burohappold engineering Annual review 2015
SECTOR: URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Engineering development strategies for masterplanning London 2012 Olympics and legacy London, UK
BuroHappold has been chosen as part of the design team for the exciting Stratford Waterfront redevelopment, Olympicopolis, which will include new buildings for the V&A, Sadler’s Wells, the Smithsonian, University of the Arts London and more. The site will also provide 75,000m² of new homes and represent a major regeneration programme for the area. I mage: By E G Focus,mage: By via W ikimedia Commons ikimedia
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financial overview
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“We have come out of the recession a stronger and more robust practice, achieving a return to growth, improved funding and performance, with a debt free business.
We have been able to invest in our people, service offers, a new brand, new facilities and infrastructure and moved towards an integrated practice.
The recovery in demand for our services and strong revenue growth is encouraging. This combined with an improvement in profit, a drive on liquidity and better project performance gives us a robust platform for the future.”
Michael Williamson, CFO
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performance
Our practice has successfully managed its way through We have produced strong results with growth in demand 5 years of economic recession in the construction sector for our services across all our markets and an increase and related industries from 2008 to 2013. In the last in revenue of 16% to £148.5m (2014: £128.1m). two years there has been a recovery in our sector, which Our operating profit is almost double that achieved in we have taken full advantage of, returning our business 2009 at £18m (2009: £9.8m). The number of partners to its pre-recession highs. At the same time we have has remained fairly constant at circa 50 since 2009. substantially improved our underlying performance Operating profits as reported in an LLP structure, are increasing operating margins. stated before any partner profit share. The results therefore represent the operating results of all the contracts in the various entities across the globe.
14/15 £148.5m 14/15 £18.0m 13/14 £128.1m 13/14 £15.2m 12/13 £111.8m 12/13 £11.7m 11/12 £116.8m 11/12 £11.8m 10/11 £119.8m 10/11 £8.0m 09/10 £123.0m 09/10 £14.0m 08/09 £149.1m 08/09 £9.8m
turnover operating profit
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We have increased operating profit to £18m in 2015 been significant additional investment with the opening (2014: £15.2m), whilst at the same time increasing of new offices in Los Angeles, Mumbai, Hong Kong and investment back into the business. The most significant Warsaw, the modernisation of existing offices, and the expenditure was in marketing, with the launch of the development of our technology infrastructure and new brand identity and the development of our strategic design capability. marketing capability across the business. There has also
14/15 16% 14/15 12% 13/14 16% 13/14 12% 12/13 (4%) 12/13 10% 11/12 (3%) 11/12 10% 10/11 (3%) 10/11 7% 09/10 (18%) 09/10 11% 08/09 7%
turnover GROWTH OPERATING MARGIN
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projects
At the heart of the business are the long term contracts The business has seen its turnover grow by 16% to and projects, which are delivered by our people and £148.5m with the following regions experiencing the drive performance. We are an international business with majority of the increase – UK, USA, Asia, Pacific and India. 70% of our revenue generated on contracts outside of Therefore with a greater geographic spread of work our the UK. With such an international spread of activity it dependency on our traditional markets in the Middle East is vital that we have a strong financial controlling and has been mitigated. reporting framework, alongside a robust set of corporate governance procedures.
turnover by region 2013-14 turnover by region 2014-15
£8.9m £10.2m
Europe Europe 7% 7%
£15.9m £19.3m
Rest of World £47.1m Rest of World £48.0m 12% 13% Middle East Middle East 37% 32%
£21.0m £27.1m
USA USA 16% £35.2m 18% £43.9m
UK UK 28% 30%
TOTAL: TOTAL: £128.1m £148.5m
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Liquidity
The other key financial change has been in the funding The business in 2013 negotiated a new 3 year facility with and liquidity of the business. In 2009 the business was HSBC. It is pleasing to see that the group now only has using its facilities with a net debt position of £6.4m and debt in the North American entities, where an overdraft borrowing from the banks of £10.6m. This indebted facility of $3m is in use. We are operating under a net situation has been turned around through a strategy of cash position of £15.6m at 30 April 2015. This has been targeting improvement in margin, cash flow, balance sheet increased further in the current financial year. management and working capital effectiveness.
14/15 £17.2m 14/15 (£1.6m) 13/14 £12.9m 13/14 (£7.6m) 12/13 £6.9m 12/13 (£9.3m) 11/12 £5.0m 11/12 (£11.0m) 10/11 £2.0m 10/11 (£10.8m) 09/10 £3.6m 09/10 (£2.2m) 08/09 £2.4m 08/09 (£10.9m)
CASH overdraft and loans
14/15 £15.6m 14/15 5% 13/14 £5.3m 13/14 32% 12/13 (£2.4m) 12/13 40% 11/12 (£6.0m) 11/12 58% 10/11 (£8.8m) 10/11 56% 09/10 £1.4m 09/10 10% 08/09 (£8.5m) 08/09 65%
NET CASH / (DEBT) DEBT to EQUITY RATIO
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working capital
Our project portfolio includes a number of long term as a result we have seen a significant improvement in our contracts in a diverse number of countries. Historically our liquidity position. Our internal measure of working capital client base prefers to pay for our services once they have is Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) which is a blend of been delivered hence our business has previously operated debtor days and unbilled value. Our DSO currently stands with high levels of debt. Recently we have ruthlessly at 91 days, reducing from 137 days in 2009 and our trade pursued markets, service offers, projects and clients debtors have significantly reduced from £56m in 2009 to where we have been able to better control cashflows and £37m in 2015.
14/15 91 14/15 £36.9m 13/14 107 13/14 £37.7m 12/13 107 12/13 £32.9m 11/12 108 11/12 £34.4m 10/11 124 10/11 £40.8m 09/10 131 09/10 £44.4m 08/09 137 08/09 £55.9m
DSO DAYS TRADE DEBTORS
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PEOPLE
Our ability to grow is entirely dependent on our access 14/15 1,562 to exceptional people. Our market is highly competitive 13/14 1,354 and we continue to attract the best in our industry across all of our markets. We have added talent in every 12/13 1,268 part of our business and continue to grow to meet the 11/12 1,320 changing needs of our project portfolio. Given our strong 10/11 1,348 project book, we are excited to enter the new year with 09/10 1,396 confidence. 08/09 1,607
average number of employees
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The Essence of BuroHappold
Through one global community of driven, world leading engineering professionals, we deliver elegant solutions for buildings and cities. We believe in harnessing the magic of the engineering mind; embracing the difficult, striving for progress; bridging science and society; and the pursuit of simple honest truth.
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