Nine directors at architectural firm Henry J Lyons last year shared €5.4m

HJ Lyons Architects enjoyed record year as revenues increased by 19% to €36.2m in the 12 months to the end of September 2020

An image  of the redeveloped site of the Clerys department store on O’Connell Street in Dublin
An image of the redeveloped site of the Clerys department store on O’Connell Street in Dublin

Nine directors at the country’s largest architectural firm, Henry J Lyons, last year shared €5.4 million in remuneration, according to new accounts for the firm.

The accounts show that HJ Lyons Architects Ltd enjoyed a record year as revenues increased by 19 per cent to €36.2 million in the 12 months to the end of September 2020. The rise in revenues coincided with an upsurge in Strategic Housing Development applications being made to An Bord Pleanála, and ambitious office developments planned for the capital.

The remuneration for the nine directors is made up of €4.2 million in pay and pension contributions of €1.2 million. Directors’ pay increased by 31 per cent or by €1m to €4.2 million.

The directors last year oversaw rapid expansion as the numbers employed at HJ Lyons increased from 239 to 296, with 56 architects recruited to the company.

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Costs associated with this expansion sent pre-tax profits plummeting by 84 per cent to €259,519 last year.

According to the directors, the trading result for the year and the financial position at year-end were satisfactory.

The company closed the year with shareholder funds of €6.3 million, and cash of €10.5 million.The company last year recorded post-tax profits of €18,641 after paying corporation tax of €240,878.

The firm designed Johnny Ronan’s ambitious 40-plus storey tower scheme, Waterfront South Central in Dublin’s Docklands, which has proved to be controversial.

Other projects include some of the most high profile commercial developments in Dublin, including the redevelopment of Clerys on O’Connell Street, One Molesworth Street, and IPUT’s Wilton Park scheme that will accommodate 3,500 to 4,000 office workers.

Other projects include Docusign’s EMEA HQ, Central Plaza on Dame Street, Hubspot’s Dublin-based HQ, Ireland House in Tokyo and the Irish Stock Exchange for Euronext.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times