What Holmes Miller does

Holmes Miller is a UK-headquartered architectural practice operating as Holmes Miller Ltd., founded circa 1950–1951 and headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, with a workforce of 51–100 employees. The firm provides full-service architectural design, planning, and project delivery across multiple sectors including education, sports and leisure, civic, residential, healthcare, commercial, interiors, and justice/custodial facilities. Its core technology stack centers on Passivhaus-certified sustainable design, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glulam structural systems, and sustainable retrofit methodologies, with documented specialization in ultra-low energy buildings, trauma-informed custodial design, and SEND-inclusive educational environments.

The firm operates a professional services revenue model, generating income through project-based architectural fees on engagements with both public and private sector clients. Go-to-market is predominantly sales-led, relying on public sector competitive tendering for local government commissions, direct commissioning by private clients (such as sports clubs and care home operators), and repeat engagement with existing clients. Pricing is quote-driven and project-specific, with no publicly disclosed fee structures. Holmes Miller maintains four offices — Glasgow (HQ), St Albans, Leeds, and Guangzhou, China — enabling regional UK coverage and a limited international footprint in Greater China.

Customer concentration skews heavily toward Scottish local government, with multiple named council clients including City of Edinburgh, East Dunbartonshire, Dundee City, South Lanarkshire, Perth & Kinross, and South Ayrshire, alongside the Scottish Prison Service. Private sector clients are limited but include Celtic Football Club and Morrison Community Care Group. Major completed projects span values from £0.2m interior fit-outs to £100m community campuses, with the firm's largest and most recent flagship being the Drumgeith Community Campus delivered in 2025 as one of the UK's largest Passivhaus Classic buildings.

Name

Holmes Miller

Legal name

Holmes Miller Ltd.

Website

https://holmesmiller.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Holmes Miller is a Glasgow-headquartered architectural practice founded circa 1950, providing full-service design across education, leisure, justice, and civic sectors for predominantly Scottish public sector clients, with specialized expertise in Passivhaus-certified sustainable design and trauma-informed custodial facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Professional Services: Holmes Miller operates as an architectural practice providing design, planning, and project delivery services for construction projects. Revenue is generated through professional fees for architectural services on project-based engagements with public and private sector clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Holmes Miller is an architectural practice providing design, planning, and project delivery services across sectors including sports and leisure, education, civic, residential, commercial, interiors, and justice/custodial facilities. The firm offers specialized expertise in Passivhaus-certified sustainable design, BIM-enabled delivery, CLT/Glulam timber construction, therapeutic custodial design, and sustainable retrofit methodologies for both new-build and existing buildings.

Product overview

Holmes Miller is an award-winning architectural practice offering a comprehensive portfolio of architectural design services across multiple sectors. The firm operates as a single integrated service practice rather than a platform-plus-modules structure, providing architectural design, sustainability consulting, and specialized expertise in Passivhaus-certified buildings, SEND school design, custodial/justice facilities, and community/leisure venues. Their core offering encompasses sports facilities, educational buildings, civic projects, residential developments, commercial spaces, interiors, and justice/custodial design, supported by digital design capabilities and sustainability-focused low-carbon design services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 80% reduction in operational energy consumption compared to typical leisure centres (Blairgowrie and Larkhall projects)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hub East Central ScotlandcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHub East Central Scotland served as the delivery partner for the Blairgowrie Recreation Centre project, acting as the public sector hub company facilitating the project's development and delivery for Perth and Kinross Council.
• BAM ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBAM Construction was the main contractor for the Blairgowrie Recreation Centre project, delivering the first Scottish Passivhaus leisure centre on behalf of Perth and Kinross Council.
• East Dunbartonshire Leisure and CulturecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerClose collaboration with the Council and building management team for Allander Leisure Centre project, ensuring integrated design that serves community needs.
• Morrison ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMorrison Construction delivered the Faifley Campus project for West Dunbartonshire Council, working in partnership to achieve Passivhaus standards.
• The R&AcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe R&A (governing body for golf) commissioned and partnered with Holmes Miller for the Golf It! community golf facility at Lethamhill, Glasgow, aligning with their vision for golf accessibility.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Purcell Architecture: UK practice specialising in heritage, retrofit, and sustainable design across public-sector and cultural buildings. Closely comparable on sustainable retrofit methodology and heritage-sensitive work.
• Page\Park Architects: Glasgow-based architectural practice of comparable size with strong public-sector, heritage, and education portfolio across Scotland. Closely comparable to Holmes Miller in scale, geography, and sector mix.
• Reiach and Hall Architects: Edinburgh-based mid-sized practice with a strong track record in education, civic, and cultural buildings in Scotland. Comparable in scale, sector focus, and design-led public sector positioning.
• Austin-Smith:Lord: UK architecture practice with a public-sector focus across civic, education, and leisure sectors. Comparable mid-sized competitor for council framework work in the UK.
• Ryder Architecture: UK practice with strong sustainability, public-sector, and education credentials. Direct competitor on Passivhaus and net-zero public-sector projects in the UK.
• Anderson Bell + Christie: Glasgow-headquartered architectural practice with a long-standing public-sector and education client base in Scotland. Direct competitor for Scottish council framework commissions.

Broad incumbents

• Foster + Partners: Global architecture incumbent with UK public-sector and large civic commissions. Sets the upper bound of the competitive set for sustainability-driven, high-profile civic architecture in the UK.
• AHR (formerly Aedas UK): Large UK multi-disciplinary architecture and building services practice with extensive public-sector, education, and leisure work. Competes with Holmes Miller for major framework appointments but at materially greater scale.
• Hawkins\Brown: London-headquartered UK architecture practice with strong education, leisure, and civic portfolios. Competes for larger UK public-sector commissions where Holmes Miller also bids.

Regional players

• Mosaic Architecture + Design: Scotland-based architectural practice with education, leisure, and community-sector portfolio. Comparable in regional positioning to Holmes Miller's Scottish core market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/holmesmiller
• Facebookfacebook.com/holmesmillerarchitects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holmes-miller

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Holmes Miller