UK architect Foster + Partners has sold a majority stake to Canadian private investment firm Hennick & Company. Founder Lord Foster and his family are now the practice’s second largest shareholders after the Hennick family acquired “a significant interest”.
The firm’s existing partners will remain long-term shareholders, with Foster and his family retaining the “balance of the equity” in the company.
The change will create a “perpetual partnership model”, allowing the architect to expand beyond its current 180 partners, paving the way for the “next generation of professionals” and an “orderly succession of existing partners over the long-term”. As part of this plan, 24 of the firm’s partners will be promoted to senior partners.
Lord Foster commented: “Towards the end of last year, we started to explore long-term structures for the practice that would respond to the challenges and opportunities of growth and encourage the next generation of leadership and this partnership is the culmination of that process.
“We are delighted to be joining forces with the family trust of the Hennick’s, who share our values and the pursuit of excellence. This evolution has the potential to expand the range and depth of our studio – particularly in the fields of sustainability, infrastructure, urbanisation and recycling.”
Bradley Hennick, HennickCo’s managing director, said: “We are proud to partner with Lord Foster, his family and the other highly accomplished professionals and partners of this iconic global brand.
“This new partnership presents a unique opportunity to leverage our experience and long-term perspective to strengthen Foster + Partners’ position as the world’s preeminent architecture, infrastructure, engineering and design consultancy.
“We look forward to working with the practice’s exceptional leadership team and partner shareholders to harness the extraordinary skills within the practice to grow into new and exciting areas in the years to come.” Image: Norman Foster at the inauguration of Dresden’s refurbished central railway station (bigbug21/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic)
