What CPL Architects does

CPL Architects (legal entity Church Projects Limited, Company Registration No. 02531374) is a privately held UK architectural practice that specializes exclusively in church and community building design. The firm serves Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical, and other religious organizations, as well as charitable and community groups, delivering new builds, refurbishments, extensions, heritage/listed building conservation, and community and special-needs facilities across England. It has Conservation Registrant accreditation, enabling it to work on Grade I, II* and II listed buildings alongside its core RIBA Chartered Practice status. Its service model is built around the RIBA Plan of Work stages, adapted for charity fundraising cycles and phased delivery, and includes a distinguishing Annexe zero-VAT concept and residential enabling development services used to fund church construction.

The practice operates from a registered office at Chantry House, 22 Upperton Road, Eastbourne, with a secondary office in Durham, and serves clients UK-wide. Leadership comprises Managing Director Philip Winch (BA Hons Dip Arch Dip Arb RIBA), Director of Architectural Design and Delivery Daniel Almond (BArch Hons MArch PG Dip), Finance Director Susan Winch, and Finance Officer/Graphic Designer Elizabeth Winch — a small team of roughly 4-10 staff. Projects span construction values from £500k to £10 million. Revenue is generated through project-based professional architectural fees, typically structured as a percentage of construction value following RIBA stages, on a quote-based engagement model with no public pricing tiers.

The underlying technology stack is standard industry rather than proprietary: Xero for invoicing, Sage for payroll, NBS Contract Administration for JCT/SBCC and RIBA contracts, and KPIT for outsourced IT. No proprietary platforms, APIs, AI/ML systems, or software products were identified. Marketing and distribution are sales-led, relying on the firm website (cplarchitects.co.uk, built by Barkweb), a detailed portfolio of case studies, RIBA Chartered Practice credibility, and referrals from church networks and denominations. No external investment, private equity ownership, or M&A activity is indicated.

Name

CPL Architects

Legal name

Church Projects Limited

Website

https://cplarchitects.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CPL Architects is a UK RIBA Chartered practice that designs exclusively church and community buildings — new builds, heritage conservation, refurbishments and extensions — for religious organizations, charities and community groups across England from offices in Eastbourne and Durham.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious & Cultural Building Construction (Places of Worship, Museums, Libraries) (IMAFACAH), Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Church architecture design
• Heritage building conservation
• Community building design
• Architectural professional services
• Listed building restoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Eastbourne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architectural Professional Services: CPL Architects generates revenue through professional architectural fees for design, planning, and project management services on church and community building projects. Projects typically range from £500k to £10million in construction value. Revenue is project-based and follows standard architectural fee structures linked to RIBA Plan of Work stages.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CPL Architects provides architectural design, planning, and project management services for churches, community buildings, and heritage listed properties in the UK. The practice guides clients through the full RIBA Plan of Work stages from conception to completion, handling projects ranging from £500,000 to £10 million in construction value. Core offerings include new church builds, heritage and listed building conservation, refurbishments and extensions, residential enabling development, and community/special needs facility design.

Product overview

CPL Architects operates as a single unified architectural practice offering church and community building design services. The core offering encompasses church architecture design following RIBA Plan of Work stages, supplemented by specialized sub-products including heritage/listed building services (with RIBA-accredited conservation expertise), new build construction management, refurbishment and extension services (featuring the Annexe concept for zero-VAT qualifying facilities), residential development design (often as enabling development), and community/special needs facilities design. The practice primarily serves churches, charitable organisations, and community groups across the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Church Architecture Design Services Core architectural design service covering new church builds, heritage listed buildings, refurbishments, and extensions for churches and faith organisations, delivered through the RIBA Plan of Work stages from conception to completion.

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BarkwebminorOthersWebsite design and management provider for CPL Architects' corporate website (cplarchitects.co.uk). Standard vendor relationship for web presence maintenance.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Levitt Bernstein: Levitt Bernstein is an architectural practice with a community and affordable housing specialism, overlapping with CPL's community facility design work (youth centres, special needs facilities). Comparable where social-infrastructure and community-sector briefs intersect, though less focused on the ecclesiastical niche.
• Bryden Wood: Bryden Wood is a UK design and architecture practice with experience across community, education, and mixed-use developments. Partial overlap with CPL on community facility design and phased funding-led delivery.
• JTP (John Thompson & Partners): JTP is a UK placemaking and community-focused architectural practice working on community hubs, civic buildings, and residential-led development. Overlaps with CPL on the community building and residential enabling development sides, but serves broader non-religious clients.

Broad incumbents

• Stride Treglown: Stride Treglown is a large UK architectural practice with work across heritage, civic, community, and residential sectors including ecclesiastical projects. A broader incumbent that competes in some shared geographies and project typologies with CPL.
• Purcell Architecture: Purcell is one of the UK's largest heritage architectural practices with deep conservation expertise including ecclesiastical projects across cathedrals and listed churches. Larger and broader than CPL, but a direct competitor for Grade I/II* church commissions and RIBA Conservation work.
• Allies and Morrison: Allies and Morrison is a leading UK architectural practice with a diverse portfolio spanning civic, cultural, religious, and heritage projects. A broader incumbent whose cultural/religious commissions place it in occasional competition with CPL for high-value work.
• Holder Mathias Architects: Holder Mathias is a UK architectural practice with substantial experience in civic, community, and ecclesiastical projects. Larger and broader than CPL, but competes in the same RIBA Plan of Work / community-building segment.

Direct peers

• Caroe Architecture Ltd: Caroe is a small-to-mid UK practice focused on historic churches, cathedrals, and ecclesiastical heritage work with Conservation Registrant accreditation. Closely comparable niche focus and scale profile to CPL.
• AWW Architects: AWW Architects is a UK architectural practice with a long-standing specialism in church, cathedral, and ecclesiastical architecture alongside broader heritage and community work. It is the most direct comparable to CPL given its similar denominational portfolio, Conservation Registrant status, and heritage listed-building capability.
• Buttress Architects: Manchester-based Buttress Architects operates a heritage and conservation-led practice with significant ecclesiastical and listed-building experience, including church reordering and restoration. Directly comparable to CPL on conservation credentials and faith-sector project mix.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cpl-chartered-architects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CPL Architects