What Allan Murray Architects does

Allan Murray Architects, trading as AMA Studio, is a privately held architectural practice founded in Edinburgh in 1996 and reorganised as an Employee-Owned Trust in April 2020. The firm operates as a single integrated design practice delivering nine core service lines: masterplanning, hotel design, residential development (including student housing, build-to-rent, and affordable housing), commercial office design, education facilities, conservation and historic-setting work, healthcare facilities, arts and cultural buildings, and retail development. Its portfolio spans more than 25 years and includes several award-winning projects in heritage, conservation, and UNESCO World Heritage contexts, with BREEAM Excellent-rated sustainable buildings forming part of the offer.

The business model is fee-based professional services revenue, generated through project commissions, masterplanning fees, and design consultancy, with pricing determined per project and not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market relies on direct client engagement, developer partnerships, competitive tendering, invited competitions, and repeat enterprise relationships. Clients are concentrated among enterprise developers, institutional investors, hospitality operators, universities, and public-sector bodies, with named relationships including Unite Students, Artisan Real Estate UK, Henderson Global Investors, Whitbread, Diageo, Pillar Projects, and the City of Edinburgh Council. The firm operates from a single Edinburgh headquarters and serves projects across the UK (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Bristol, Perth) and internationally (Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Egypt, Italy), with no external investment, parent company, or funding rounds referenced in the available record.

Name

Allan Murray Architects

Legal name

Allan Murray Architects Limited

Website

https://ama-ltd.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Edinburgh-based architectural practice AMA Studio (Allan Murray Architects), founded 1996 and operating as an Employee-Owned Trust since 2020, delivering masterplanning, conservation, and architectural design across hotels, residential, commercial, education, healthcare, and cultural sectors for enterprise developers, investors, and public-sector clients in the UK and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Urban masterplanning
• Historic building conservation
• Sustainable architecture design
• Mixed-use development design

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Services: Fee-based architectural and design services for residential, commercial, hospitality, education, and mixed-use developments. Revenue generated through project commissions, masterplanning fees, and design consultancy services.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Allan Murray Architects (trading as AMA Studio) is an award-winning, employee-owned architectural practice based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It delivers full architectural design services including masterplanning, urban design, and building design across residential, hotel, commercial office, education, healthcare, conservation, retail, and arts/cultural building types for developers, investors, hotel operators, and public sector clients in the UK and internationally.

Product overview

AMA Studio is an award-winning architectural practice that offers comprehensive architectural and design services. The firm operates as a single integrated practice providing masterplanning, urban design, and architectural services across multiple building types. Their portfolio includes hotel design, residential development (student housing, build-to-rent, affordable housing), commercial office design, education facilities, healthcare facilities, conservation projects, arts and cultural buildings, and retail development. The practice serves clients throughout the UK and internationally, with notable projects including the New Waverley Masterplan, Edinburgh St James regeneration, various hotel projects, and multiple award-winning commercial and residential developments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Masterplanning Services Urban design and masterplanning services for large-scale regeneration projects and city centre developments, including the New Waverley Masterplan and Edinburgh BioQuarter Masterplan. Designed for property developers, investors, and public sector clients.
• Hotel Design Services Design services for hotels ranging from new build hotels within historic city centre contexts to major resort planning, including Hotel Missoni, Adagio Apart-Hotel, and The Glasshouse Hotel. Designed for hotel operators and developers.
• Residential Development Design Residential architecture services including mixed-use developments, student housing, build-to-rent apartments, and affordable housing, with projects such as St Leonard's Residences, Burnet Point, and Bainfield Residences. Designed for residential developers, student housing operators, and build-to-rent investors.
• Commercial Office Design Design of high-quality commercial office space including Grade A offices, speculative office buildings, and headquarters buildings, with projects like New Street Offices, The Cube, and Diageo HQ. Designed for commercial developers and corporate occupiers.
• Education Facilities Design Design services for educational buildings including schools, universities, nurseries, and library facilities, with projects such as Boroughmuir High School and Cowgate Under 5's Nursery. Designed for local authorities, universities, and education trusts.
• Conservation and Historic Setting Projects Conservation architecture and work in historic settings, including listed building restoration, adaptive reuse, and projects in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Designed for heritage bodies, conservation organisations, and developers of historic assets.
• Healthcare Facilities Design Design services for healthcare buildings including hospitals, care homes, and health centres, with projects like Edmonstone Care Village and Edmonstone Health Care Facility. Designed for NHS bodies, care operators, and health authorities.
• Arts and Cultural Buildings Design Design of arts centres, theatres, concert halls, museums, and cultural facilities, with projects including Hamilton Media Centre & Library and the Norwegian Museum of Art & Design. Designed for cultural institutions, public bodies, and cultural trusts.
• Retail Development Design Retail architecture services including shopping centre expansions, retail units, and commercial developments, with projects like the Bon Accord Shopping Centre expansion. Designed for retail developers, shopping centre owners, and commercial landlords.

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Unite StudentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner for student accommodation developments. Completed St Leonards Residences (579 rooms) and Abbey Lane Student Housing (298 rooms) as combined student accommodation and residential projects.
• Artisan Real Estate UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner for the £150 million New Waverley masterplan transformation of the Caltongate area in Edinburgh Old Town, including student housing, hotels, and residential.
• WhitbreadmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper client for two completed hotel buildings on East Market Street as part of the New Waverley masterplan.
• McAleer & RushemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDesign and build contractor for Everards Printworks Bristol project (255 bed Clayton Hotel) and East Market Street Hotels. Responsible for construction delivery.
• GRAHAMmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for Burnet Point, Abbey Lane project - Unite Students first combined site with build to rent flats and affordable housing in Scotland.
• Pillar ProjectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper for OMNI Development and The Glasshouse Hotel, awarded Commercial Development of the Year 2010.
• Parlison Properties LtdmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint developer for OMNI Development project in Edinburgh's East End.
• City of Edinburgh CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for Central Library Literature Quarter project and various public sector developments.
• New Waverley LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper consortium behind £150 million New Waverley transformation, comprising international investors.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reiach and Hall Architects: Edinburgh-based mid-sized practice with strong cultural, educational, and civic portfolios. Comparable on segment mix and on Scottish/UK mid-tier practice economics.
• Bennetts Associates: UK mid-sized practice with strong sustainable-design credentials and cultural/education portfolio. Direct comparable on BREEAM-rated sustainable design and award-led positioning.
• Page\Park Architects: Edinburgh-based award-winning architectural practice with comparable scale and strong heritage/conservation credentials. Directly comparable on segment mix (cultural, heritage, education) and on UK/Scottish mid-sized practice positioning.
• Simpson & Brown: Edinburgh-based conservation and heritage architecture specialist. Direct comparable on listed-building work, adaptive reuse, and historic-setting expertise—AMA's stated niche.
• Collective Architecture: Glasgow-headquartered practice with comparable scale and strong residential, education, and masterplanning portfolios. Direct overlap on Scottish new-build residential and student accommodation briefs.
• Allies and Morrison: UK award-winning practice with comparable segment breadth (residential, education, cultural, masterplanning) and mid-tier scale. Comparable on urban regeneration and contextual design expertise.
• 7N Architects: Edinburgh-headquartered practice of comparable size, working across residential, education, and masterplanning. Overlaps directly on student housing, residential, and education briefs in the Scottish market.

Broad incumbents

• RMJM: Scottish-origin global architecture firm with a much broader portfolio across commercial, residential, cultural, and masterplanning. Comparable on origin market and masterplanning capability, but operates at materially larger scale.
• Zaha Hadid Architects: Global architecture incumbent with strong cultural and masterplanning portfolios. Comparable on international reach and high-profile regeneration work, but operates at a different scale and price point.
• Foster + Partners: Global architecture incumbent. Overlaps with AMA on masterplanning and large-scale regeneration briefs but operates at vastly larger scale and competes for marquee international commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AllanMurrayArch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Allan Murray Architects