Architects RMJM sold for £11m to investment firm

Edinburgh-based RMJM Architecture, the registered company that bought three subsidiaries of the original RMJM practice out of receivership last October, has accepted an offer from the new business Duthus Investments for £11 million, according to documents seen by Building Design magazine.

The firm, famed for its involvement in the Scottish Parliament building and for briefly hiring former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin, was once named the fifth biggest architecture firm in the world, employing more than 1,000 people worldwide.

It is not known who is behind the new company, although according to documents filed with Companies House, Duthus, which was founded just a month ago, was set up as an investment vehicle by Edinburgh law firm Dickson Minto – a legal practice with a long-standing history of acting on behalf of RMJM.

• The rise and fall of Scottish architects RMJM

In a letter to shareholders, RMJM director Declan Thompson said the sale would “massively assist” the business and secure the future of the firm’s staff.

RMJM has been plagued with financial and legal problems for three years. It suffered a mass exodus of staff amid allegations of unpaid wages – and has also faced legal wrangles in recent months, including one over an unpaid £800,000 tax bill to the US authorities and legal action taken by the company’s former top architects, Tony Kettle and Colin Bone, for unfair dismissal.

In a letter sent to shareholders just before the Easter break, Mr Thompson wrote: “Having received and accepted an unconditional cash offer of £11m for the shares in RMJM Architecture Ltd, we have today [March 28] completed a transaction to sell the group’s trading subsidiaries to Duthus Investments.

“Additionally, the offer will result in debt burden of over £12m being removed from the business as it moves forward in its new structure, which will facilitate the restoration of the RMJM brand. The elimination of this very substantial debt level will massively assist the business and secure the employment of the talented staff.”

Shareholders have been asked to support a resolution to change the name of the firm to BSR 2013 – to “avoid market confusion” with Duthus Investments, which is in turn to change its name to RMJM Group Investments.

The Morrison family – Sir Fraser and his son Peter – who own 75 per cent of the shares and are the company’s secured debt holders, have already indicated their intention to vote in favour of the change – requiring the remaining shareholders to merely rubber-stamp the deal.

When the company went into receivership in October, its subsidiaries – RMJM Ltd, RMJM Scotland and RMJM London – had £294,165 in outstanding court judgments against them.