PROPERTY UPDATE: MY VIEW:ARCHITECTURE is not a well paid profession so most practices don't have large reserves of cash. Like most , we've seen clients going into liquidation, clients putting pressure on us to reduce agreed fees and opportunistic refusals to pay altogether.

Luckily we have some interesting work for a number of good clients on houses and extensions but public sector work has slowed down to a trickle. It probably isn’t good business practice to publicise that our business is shrinking but we’re surviving, which could be defined as success. Our staff have been reduced to a third with former staff part of the brain drain abroad, Our turnover is now a quarter of what it was in 2007.

Public sector contracts are inexplicably delayed by years and, despite prompt payment regulations, are not good at paying on time. Banks are reducing overdraft facilities and allowing the balance as a term loan. (Two loans for one, same amount of money). The Government’s current procurement practice is sending work abroad and excluding small practices from competing despite the fact that SMEs are the backbone of any open economy.

Realistically, everything points towards things getting worse before they get better, but on the upside the RIAI are working with the government to improve the procurement situation and progress has been made on that front. It’s time to reflect and plan for better times to come.