What The Urbanists does

The Urbanists is a Cardiff-headquartered, employee-owned professional services consultancy that delivers integrated placemaking across three interrelated disciplines — town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture. Founded in 2005 by Martin Sullivan alongside Powell Dobson Architects, the firm serves public sector clients (local authorities, NHS trusts, universities, Welsh Government) and private sector clients (major housebuilders such as Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey, housing associations including Pobl and Trivallis, and developers such as Robertson Property) across England and Wales. Its service portfolio is structured around three core offerings — Planning, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture — which are sold and delivered as a unified placemaking package rather than as standalone products, covering masterplanning, design codes, planning applications, public realm design, biodiversity net gain, SuDS, and stakeholder engagement.

The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements, typically procured via competitive tendering or framework agreements with public bodies, with pricing determined by project scope and complexity rather than published rate cards. It operates three regional offices — Cardiff (headquarters), Bristol (opened around late 2022), and Manchester — providing coverage across England and Wales. The business transitioned to employee ownership in 2019 via The Urbanists Trust, and as of 2025 employs between 11 and 50 staff including one Managing Director, five Directors, Senior Associates, and graduate-level technical capacity. Notable project engagements include the £150m Atlantic Wharf Cardiff masterplan, the Porthcawl Waterfront Regeneration Area Masterplan (43 hectares, up to 1,100 homes), the £180m Velindre Cancer Centre planning consultancy, and the Corwen Town Centre Placemaking Plan. The firm holds Cyber Essentials certification and is registered in England and Wales as The Urbanists Ltd (company number 8333903). It does not operate proprietary technology platforms and does not publicly disclose revenue.

Name

The Urbanists

Legal name

The Urbanists Ltd

Website

https://theurbanists.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Urbanists is a Cardiff-headquartered, employee-owned UK consultancy providing integrated town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture services to local authorities, housebuilders, housing associations, and healthcare clients across England and Wales, operating from offices in Cardiff, Bristol, and Manchester.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Planning and Design Consultancy

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC), Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD)

Keywords

• Urban planning consultancy
• Masterplanning services
• Landscape architecture
• Urban design
• Town planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Planning Consultancy Services: Comprehensive planning consultancy services tailored to meet client-specific needs, including planning applications, LDP representations, appeals, and planning guidance. Services span residential, commercial, healthcare, education, regeneration, energy, and industrial sectors across England and Wales.
2. Urban Design Services: Urban design and masterplanning services including residential masterplanning, strategic land assessments, development concepts and briefs, regeneration strategies, design research, urban design frameworks, residential design codes, and town centre strategies.
3. Landscape Architecture Services: Full spectrum landscape architectural services from concept through to construction, including public realm, urban regeneration, biodiversity net gain, green infrastructure strategies, SuDS design, active travel, parks and play spaces, and landscape masterplanning.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Urbanists is an integrated placemaking consultancy providing town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture services to public and private sector clients across England and Wales. The firm delivers planning applications, Local Development Plan representations, masterplanning, design codes, public realm design, regeneration strategies, and landscape architecture from concept through construction for residential, commercial, healthcare, education, and regeneration projects.

Product overview

The Urbanists is an integrated placemaking consultancy offering three core, interrelated services: Planning, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture. These services are delivered as a unified offering rather than standalone products, with the firm emphasizing that planning advice is informed by urban design and landscape expertise, and all three disciplines work collaboratively from project inception. The consultancy provides services across masterplanning, planning applications, landscape architecture (from concept through construction), and urban design for residential, commercial, education, healthcare, and regeneration projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully delivered £150m Atlantic Wharf landscape masterplan with outline planning granted March 2022 for 1,150 new homes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core, major and supporting.

• Cardiff Capital RegionstrategicGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 March 2024Partnership for MIPIM 2024 attendance - The Urbanists partnered with Cardiff Capital Region for the international real estate exhibition in Cannes, showcasing regional development opportunities.
• Bridgend County Borough CouncilcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint client with Welsh Government for Porthcawl Waterfront Masterplan - a 43-hectare waterfront regeneration project accommodating up to 1,100 new homes, education provision, and commercial space. The Urbanists led the design team.
• Welsh GovernmentcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint client with Bridgend County Borough Council for strategic brownfield site at Porthcawl. The project is being shaped as a potential template for Welsh coastal regeneration.
• Fielden Clegg Bradley StudiosmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture and design studio collaborating on Porthcawl Waterfront Masterplan, contributing to the comprehensive masterplan and Design Code.
• Hydrock (now Stantec)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering consultancy (now part of Stantec) providing technical expertise on the Porthcawl Masterplan project.
• SavillsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReal estate advisory firm providing strategic development viability and cost advice for Porthcawl Waterfront project.
• Grasshopper CommunicationssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunications consultancy engaged for community consultation and stakeholder engagement on Porthcawl Waterfront project.
• ArupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and planning consultancy partner for Atlantic Wharf Cardiff masterplan project.
• WSPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and professional services consultancy partner for Atlantic Wharf Cardiff masterplan.
• Rio ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead architects developing occupier-led masterplan for Atlantic Wharf, with The Urbanists integrating green infrastructure and public space strategy.
• Transport for Wales (TfW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransport authority partnership for Callaghan Square / CrossRail Phase 1 project, re-imagining civic space connecting Cardiff city centre to Cardiff Bay with tram-train integration.
• BurroughsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm partnering on Callaghan Square detailed design phase with The Urbanists providing public realm design and coordination.
• Western Bio Energy (WBE)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPlanning consultancy engagement for Western Bio Energy's nature-positive data centre project in Margam, Port Talbot. WBE's biomass plant (15MW) serves as energy source for the data centre.
• Sero EnergysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy consultancy partnered on Penderi Neighbourhood Regeneration, supporting the flagship shared energy retrofit scheme enabling homes to generate, store, share, and manage solar energy.
• White ArkitektermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm engaged on Velindre Cancer Centre - the 'greenest hospital in Britain' £180M project where The Urbanists provided planning consultancy services.
• Employee Ownership AssociationsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Urbanists invest time in the Employee Ownership Association to support other businesses interested in becoming Employee Owned, sharing their transition experience from 2019.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lichfields: UK town planning consultancy providing planning applications, development economics, and regeneration advisory to public and private sector clients across England and Wales. Closely comparable in scope, client mix, and project types to The Urbanists, though larger in headcount and broader in services.
• Turley: UK planning, design, and economics consultancy with offices across England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Direct competitor in planning applications, LDP representations, regeneration, and masterplanning for local authorities and developers, with a similar integrated consultancy positioning.
• JTP (John Thompson & Partners): London-based urban design and masterplanning practice working on housing, regeneration, and public realm projects for councils and developers across the UK. Comparable scale and integrated placemaking ethos with a strong focus on community engagement.
• Allies and Morrison: UK architectural and urban design practice with a masterplanning studio delivering residential, mixed-use, and regeneration masterplans for public sector clients. Comparable integrated design-led approach to placemaking, though with deeper building architecture capability.
• Farrells: Urban design, planning, and architecture practice with deep masterplanning expertise for major regeneration, transport-oriented development, and waterfront projects. Highly comparable to The Urbanists on large regeneration masterplans.
• David Lock Associates: Town planning and urban design consultancy focused on strategic planning, new settlements, and growth area masterplanning. Comparable specialisation in town planning-led placemaking for local authorities.

Broad incumbents

• BDP (Building Design Partnership): Major UK architecture, urbanism, and engineering practice with significant masterplanning and landscape architecture capability. Competes for the same council and developer masterplanning briefs but at a much larger scale and with full multidisciplinary delivery including building design.
• Montagu Evans: UK real estate advisory and town planning consultancy serving developers, investors, and public sector clients. Overlaps with The Urbanists on planning applications, regeneration, and viability work, but with a broader investment and valuation offering.
• Savills (Planning Division): Global real estate advisory with a significant UK town planning practice serving developers, housebuilders, and public sector clients. Already a named partner on The Urbanists' Porthcawl project, illustrating overlapping client relationships and competitive positioning on viability-led masterplanning.
• Arup (Planning & Urban Design): Global engineering and planning consultancy with dedicated urban planning, masterplanning, and landscape architecture teams. Currently engaged as a sub-consultant on The Urbanists' Atlantic Wharf masterplan, illustrating both partnership and competitive overlap on large regeneration briefs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_theurbanists
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-urbanists
• Instagraminstagram.com/_theurbanists

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 The Urbanists