Levitate
Levitate is a London-based, founder-owned architecture and conservation practice founded in 2005 that delivers heritage, residential, social housing, and public-sector building projects for UK government and private clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Levitate does
Levitate (legal entity: Levitate Architecture and Design Studio Limited) is a London-headquartered, founder-owned architecture and conservation practice founded in 2005 by Spencer Guy and Tim Sloan, both RIBA Chartered Architects. It delivers project-based professional services across heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, residential design, social housing development, and public-sector buildings, operating UK-wide from a London base. Revenue is generated through direct commissions and competitive tenders from public and private sector clients, with pricing structured per-project rather than on a disclosed standardised basis.
The practice's core technical capability centres on architect-led design and the navigation of UK heritage planning regimes, including listed building consents, conservation area approvals, Scheduled Ancient Monument permissions, and planning appeals. Its product surface comprises five service lines: full architecture services, heritage conservation, planning consent services, social housing development, and public buildings design. The practice holds RIBA Chartered Practice status, uses a Squarespace-hosted project-portfolio website as its primary marketing surface, and acquires new commissions via direct engagement, tendering, and professional referrals.
The business model is fee-for-service professional services with project-by-project billing, no subscription, transactional, or platform revenue, no disclosed partnerships, no outside investment, and a flat founder-controlled ownership structure. All named engagements are with government or public-sector clients (museums, libraries, leisure centres, social housing providers, parks), making public-sector tendering the dominant customer-acquisition channel. The practice is small (1-10 employees) and operates from a single London headquarters with no disclosed branch offices.
Levitate firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Levitate
- Legal name
- Levitate Architecture and Design Studio Limited
- Website
- https://levitate.uk.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Levitate is a London-based, founder-owned architecture and conservation practice founded in 2005 that delivers heritage, residential, social housing, and public-sector building projects for UK government and private clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Levitate industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architecture Services
- NAICS
- Services to Buildings and Dwellings (5617)
- SIC
- Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Historic Home Renovation & Preservation (HSAPAEAG)
Keywords
Where Levitate is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Levitate business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Architecture and Design Services: Project-based professional services for architecture, conservation, and design projects. Revenue generated through client commissions for design, planning, and project delivery across residential, social housing, heritage, and public building sectors.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Levitate product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Levitate is an architecture and conservation practice that designs and delivers building projects across heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, residential, social housing, and public buildings. It secures planning permissions, listed building consents, conservation area approvals, and Scheduled Ancient Monument permissions for complex and sensitive sites, working with public and private sector clients across the UK. Services are delivered through project-based commissions grounded in contextual, sustainable design.
Product overview
Levitate is an architecture and design studio offering a unified suite of services centered on architecture and conservation. The practice operates across heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, residential, social housing, and public buildings. Their service portfolio includes architecture services, heritage conservation (with expertise in listed buildings, conservation areas, and Scheduled Ancient Monuments), planning consent services, and public buildings design. Founded in 2005 by Spencer Guy and Tim Sloan, the London-based practice works across the UK delivering contextual, efficient architecture full of light.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architecture Services
Companies that use Levitate
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Levitate technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Levitate partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Levitate competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Donald Insall Associates: Long-established UK heritage architecture firm specialising in listed buildings, conservation areas, and historic public estates; operates in the same regulatory and project niche as Levitate.
- Haworth Tompkins: UK practice specialising in heritage and theatre/listed-building refurbishment alongside public-sector and residential projects — similar conservation expertise and project typology mix.
- Purcell: UK architecture practice with one of the largest dedicated heritage-conservation teams, working on listed buildings, cathedrals, and historic public assets — directly comparable to Levitate's heritage and conservation core.
- Feilden+Mawson: UK architecture practice combining heritage and conservation with residential and public-sector projects, serving clients across multiple regions — closely aligned with Levitate's horizontal breadth.
- Caruso St John: London and Zurich architecture practice with a strong portfolio of adaptive reuse and heritage-led public projects; comparable in its blend of conservation and contextual new-build work.
- Buttress Architects: Manchester-based UK practice with strong heritage-conservation credentials alongside residential and public-sector work; comparable service mix and listed-building consent capability.
- Pollard Thomas Edwards: London practice with deep social housing, residential, and public-realm experience — directly comparable to Levitate's social housing and neighbourhood-centre commissions.
Broad incumbents
- Allies and Morrison: Major UK architecture practice with significant heritage, public-sector, and residential work; overlaps with Levitate's portfolio but at substantially larger scale and broader remit.
- John McAslan + Partners: Established UK architecture firm with a substantial portfolio of public buildings, heritage projects, and masterplans — comparable project typologies but at larger scale than Levitate.
- Stanton Williams: RIBA-award-winning London practice with strong cultural, heritage, and public-sector portfolios; comparable on museum, library, and public-building commissions but larger in scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Levitate social profiles
Digital presenceLevitate compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Levitate financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Levitate leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Levitate funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Levitate M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Levitate
What does Levitate do?
Levitate is an architecture and conservation practice that designs and delivers building projects across heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, residential, social housing, and public buildings. It secures planning permissions, listed building consents, conservation area approvals, and Scheduled Ancient Monument permissions for complex and sensitive sites, working with public and private sector clients across the UK. Services are delivered through project-based commissions grounded in contextual, sustainable design.
Is Levitate a public or private company?
Levitate is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Levitate founded?
Levitate was founded in 2005. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Levitate based?
Levitate is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Levitate make money?
One revenue line is on record: architecture and Design Services.
Who are Levitate's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Donald Insall Associates, Haworth Tompkins, Purcell, Feilden+Mawson, Caruso St John, Buttress Architects and Pollard Thomas Edwards. Broad incumbents are Allies and Morrison, John McAslan + Partners and Stanton Williams.
Does Levitate have an API?
No public API is recorded for Levitate.
What industry is Levitate in?
Levitate's product category is Architecture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAH, Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning, with a secondary code of HSAPAEAG, Historic Home Renovation & Preservation. Its NAICS code is 5617 and its SIC code is 7340.