RMJM, the Edinburgh-headquartered architectural practice, is forecasting a doubling of profits to about £8 million as it cashes in on the credit crunch.
Chief executive Peter Morrison said turnover at the firm, which has operations in Asia, the US and the Middle East, was on track to top £100m in the year to April, compared with £47m last time.
The practice has benefited from last year's merger wi
th Hillier of New Jersey, the fifth-biggest US architecture firm, and its work on a string of high-profile projects including the media centre for this summer's Beijing Olympics and Gazprom's Okhta Centre – set to be the tallest tower in Europe.
Morrison said the global credit squeeze was turning out to be a positive for the business.
"There's been a lot of talk about the credit crunch, but I don't think we have ever seen a development boom like the one now happening in the global market place.
"The pundits are saying the same number of buildings we have in the world today will actually be built in the next 25 years."
He added: "The credit crunch applies pressure on governments to maintain economic growth through public sector projects so there's plenty of work out there."
RMJM, which recovered from a loss in 2005 to record a pre-tax profit of just over £4m last year, said it had £8 billion worth of construction projects on its drawing boards.
The firm, which employs 1,200 people across its network of 16 offices, is best known in Scotland as the completion architect of the Holyrood parliament building.
Morrison made the forecast after RMJM picked up the Architects' Journal Business Initiative of the Year award this week. It secured the gong for its financial performance and tie-up with Hillier.
The full article contains 303 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
