What Groves-Raines Architects Studios does

Groves-Raines Architects Studios (GRAS) is an Edinburgh-based architecture and design practice specialising in heritage conservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. The firm traces its lineage to 1972 when founders Kristín Hannesdóttir and Nicholas Groves-Raines began practising conservation architecture; GRAS was established in 2006 by Gunnar Groves-Raines as an avant-garde division and merged with the parent practice in 2018 to form the unified studio. The practice operates with 11-50 staff from its Custom Lane studio at 1 Customs Wharf in Leith and delivers commissions across residential, cultural, commercial, hospitality, and public-sector projects, with flagship work for the Wildland conservation programme alongside public-sector heritage bodies including East Lothian Council, Shetland Islands Council, and National Trust for Scotland.

The firm's core offering is fee-based architectural services spanning conservation, new build in heritage settings, interior design, and landscape architecture. Technical capabilities centre on traditional building craft, structural repair, sustainable design (including Passivhaus), and a patented non-ferrous isothermal glazing system developed with Cannon McInnes for maritime heritage buildings. Beyond project commissions, GRAS operates three adjacent revenue lines: Custom Lane, a non-profit creative hub hosting designers, makers, café operators, and event programming; The Gathering Hand, a curated furniture and objects collection retailed via thegatheringhand.com with worldwide shipping; and self-catering accommodation at The Pavilion at Lamb's House.

The business model is professional services project commissions complemented by e-commerce product sales (The Gathering Hand) and recurring hospitality revenue (Lamb's Pavilion, with Killiehuntly under Wildland). Clients are secured through competition wins (World Architecture Festival 2019 for the Quaich Project), referral and repeat relationships, exhibition visibility (Venice Biennale 2012, London Design Festival 2022), and consistent award recognition across RIAS, RIBA, Scottish Design Awards, Civic Trust, and Europa Nostra. Distribution is selective, direct, and geographically concentrated in Scotland with selective international cultural exposure.

Name

Groves-Raines Architects Studios

Legal name

Groves-Raines Architects Studios Ltd.

Website

https://gras.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Edinburgh-based architecture and design practice specialising in heritage conservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings for private estates, public-sector heritage bodies, and design-led hospitality and retail clients across Scotland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Services: Fees for architectural design services including conservation, restoration, new build in heritage settings, interior design, and landscape architecture. Projects span residential, commercial, cultural, hospitality, and public sector work.
2. Furniture and Objects (The Gathering Hand): Sale of furniture and objects designed by GRAS in collaboration with European makers. Products include Carpenter's Tables (scorched cork with oak), Glassblower's Vessels, and Stonemason's Objects. Available via thegatheringhand.com with worldwide shipping.
3. Self-Catering Accommodation: The Pavilion at Lamb's House operates as self-catering accommodation. Killiehuntly (part of Wildland project) also operates as a luxury self-catering property and boutique hotel.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GRAS is an Edinburgh-based architectural practice delivering conservation, restoration, new build in heritage settings, interior design, and landscape architecture for residential, commercial, cultural, hospitality, and public sector clients. The practice also operates Custom Lane, a creative hub in Leith supporting emerging designers and makers, and sells The Gathering Hand, a curated furniture and objects collection produced with European craftspeople.

Product overview

Groves-Raines Architects Studios (GRAS) is an Edinburgh-based architecture and design practice operating as a single unified offering with distinct project types and initiatives. The core architectural services encompass conservation, new build, and interior design work across Scotland. Adjacent to the practice, GRAS operates Custom Lane — a collaborative creative hub in Leith providing workspace, gallery, café, and event facilities for designers and makers. Additionally, The Gathering Hand represents a curated furniture and objects collection developed with European craftspeople. The portfolio spans residential hospitality properties (Kyle House, Killiehuntly, Hope Lodge, Lundies House, Kinloch Lodge, Burr's of Tongue), heritage conservation projects (Preston Tower, Lamb's House, Caisteal Bharraich, Lerwick Town Hall, Sumburgh Head Lighthouse), and urban regeneration schemes (Brown's of Leith, Custom Lane, The Quaich Project).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Custom Lane: A collaborative platform conceived by GRAS to identify, support and celebrate emerging world-class design in Scotland, operating as a creative hub with café, gallery, event space and workshop in a 19th-century Custom House in Leith.

Products and services

• Architectural Services
• Custom Lane
• The Gathering Hand

Quantifiable outcome

• Preston Tower returned to public access after 40 years of internal closure
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Tom Stuart-Smith (garden designer)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Garden Design for Hope Lodge project, creating landscape that connects the lodge with surrounding grounds.
• Cecile & BoydcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Concept and interior design collaboration for Hope Lodge project.
• The Ritual WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Scottish industrial and architectural metalworkers fabricated steel furniture for Brown's of Leith, continuing the site's lineage of metalwork through contemporary making.
• Hutton StoneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Stone supplier for Brown's of Leith, providing Darney quarry sandstone that was reworked into bricks for the bar.
• Studio CorkinhocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Antwerp-based design studio collaborated with GRAS on The Gathering Hand collection, producing scorched cork tabletops for the Carpenter's Tables using traditional Portuguese techniques.
• Edmond Byrne (glass artist)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Cambridge glass artist created The Glassblower's Vessels for The Gathering Hand collection using mouth-blown glass with crackled texture technique.
• Albion StoneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Produced Portland stone for The Stonemason's Objects in The Gathering Hand collection. Stone was then bead-blasted by hand in Edinburgh.
• Namon Gaston (designer/maker)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Local designer crafted the smoked oak bases for the Carpenter's Tables using housed tenon joints for The Gathering Hand collection.
• Daniel Brophy (designer/maker)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Edinburgh-based designer and maker collaborated closely with GRAS on HRBR custom retail display for Custom Lane. Also collaborated on Buff Concept Store joinery.
• WildlandflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen's 200-year conservation and rewilding project in the Scottish Highlands. GRAS has completed multiple projects for Wildland including Kyle House, Killiehuntly, Kinloch Lodge, Lundies House, Hope Estate properties (Hope Lodge, The Clachan, An Cala), and Burr's of Tongue. Wildland is GRAS's most significant client relationship.
• Ruth Kramer (interior designer)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Swiss-based interior designer developed the vision for Kyle House bringing together Scottish and Scandinavian design. Deeply involved in Wildland projects including Killiehuntly, Kinloch Lodge, and Lundies House.
• wHY (design practice)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017US-based design practice that collaborated with GRAS on the Quaich Project competition-winning proposal for West Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh. wHY led landscape architecture while GRAS provided architectural design.
• Arup (engineering firm)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Engineering firm Arup provided structural engineering for the Quaich Project. GRAS collaborated with Arup as part of the winning competition team.
• Cannon McInnescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Stained glass conservators who collaborated with GRAS on the Lerwick Town Hall project to develop and install the patented non-ferrous isothermal glazing system.
• Craft ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Re-commissioned GRAS to design exhibition stands for Collect at Saatchi Gallery and Scotland: Craft & Design pavilion at London Design Fair. Supports Scottish craft and design internationally.
• Emergents (community interest group)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Community interest group that co-commissioned exhibition designs with Craft Scotland. Works to promote emerging Scottish design and craft practice.
• Scottish Historic Buildings TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016SHBT manages Custom Lane site on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council. GRAS worked closely with SHBT to transform the 19th-century Custom House building into a creative hub.
• Williams & Johnson (café)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2016Café operator at Custom Lane, roasting seasonally sourced beans on site. Operates café indoors and in covered cobbled lane.
• Kestin (apparel brand)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2016Apparel brand operates flagship store at Custom Lane.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• LDA Design: UK landscape and urban design consultancy overlapping with GRAS's landscape architecture component and broader placemaking work (e.g., the Quaich Project). Comparable on master planning and heritage landscapes though larger and broader in scope.
• Studio Bark: UK architecture practice with comparable emphasis on sustainable materials, conservation-adjacent new build, and design-led small-scale projects, though operating in England rather than Scotland.

Others

• Historic Environment Scotland: Scottish public body responsible for safeguarding historic environment and a counterpart/funder for many of GRAS's conservation projects including Lerwick Town Hall; relevant as ecosystem participant rather than competitor.

Direct peers

• Page\Park Architects: Scottish architecture practice with strong heritage, conservation, and cultural-sector portfolio including landmark public buildings, closely comparable to GRAS in scale, geography, and award-winning conservation focus.
• Anderson Bell + Christie: Long-established Scottish architecture firm with significant heritage, conservation, and ecclesiastical portfolio, comparable to GRAS in heritage specialism and Scotland-based operation.
• Reiach and Hall Architects: Edinburgh-headquartered architectural practice delivering cultural, civic, and conservation projects across Scotland, comparable to GRAS in size, geography, and balance of conservation with new build.
• Donald Insall Associates: UK heritage and conservation architecture practice specialising in listed buildings, scheduled monuments, and historic structures, directly comparable to GRAS's conservation-led commissions across Scotland.
• Simpson & Brown: Edinburgh-based architectural practice specialising in conservation and restoration of historic buildings across Scotland, with comparable heritage expertise, listed-building experience, and project profile to GRAS's conservation-led work.
• Loader Monteith: Edinburgh-based architecture practice with comparable scale and a portfolio spanning conservation, hospitality, and interior design projects across Scotland, overlapping with GRAS on similar client types and building typologies.

Broad incumbents

• Purcell: UK-wide heritage architecture firm with multiple studios and a larger portfolio of listed-building, conservation, and adaptive-reuse projects than GRAS, but overlapping directly in conservation methodology and client base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/groves-raines-architects
• Instagraminstagram.com/_gras
• Xx.com/GrovesRaines

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Groves-Raines Architects Studios