Architect costs in London + financials - what am I missing

[Sideextension]

Hi,

I am planning a ground floor renovation for my house, with an optional small side extension in north west London. I have been speaking with a few architects who seem to work in the area - I consulted the planning portal to find names of architects working on houses locally. Most of them have been quoting prices of £9k- 12k for 'RIBA stages 1-3' scope of work, excluding VAT. this seems excessive to me but perhaps I am wrong?

I did go to Companies House and check the financial accounts (balance sheet) of architect firms as part of my due diligence - I wonder if this is over the top, but I would like to understand their financial position. Weirdly, most of them seem to be making a loss every year and have zero to low assets reported (e.g. cash in bank) and I wonder how many projects they are working on every year. I have checked all companies the individuals may be registered with, and it makes me wonder how they are making money.

Which brings me to my question: Is it usual to 'bargain' with RIBA registered architects? i havent tried that yet.

That seems high but they will be working off a percentage based on the estimated construction value often. Also up to stage 3 is scheme design, not detailed design which you’ll need for fixed tender and building regs approval. I would steer away from architects for a renovation and basic side return and look for an architectural technologist or building surveyor. They will be much better value, won’t over design and cost you more than needed and often have much better technical
knowledge when dealing with existing buildings.

Bumping.
I do need some space management suggestions. Does one have to pay up for a riba architect in that case.

No you don't. I've just done some renovation work to my house that needed planning + design work. I am South, but not in London. Used an 'architectural designer' offering 'building design services' - £1150 all in. He's very well reviewed locally, and used to work for building control.

My build sailed through planning and building control, plans all accurate, builder happy. I also paid a structural engineer to design the steel work and do foundation checks - another £850.

I am not sure at what point i'd consider reaching the threshold for an architect personally, but likely a unique and high end whole house build.

If you have a floor plans from when you bought, you can run them through AI for space saving ideas, don't forget. I actually gave chatgpt a pic of the front of my house, explained what I wanted to do and got it to render it as an image so I could be sure I liked it. This was before I got the plans drawn up.

What you have been quoted is excessive for the proposed changes you have described. Get an architectural designer or draughtsman; that's what I used. I am doing a double storey extension; rear and side and paid about a third of your quote.
Also, please remember there are so many other costs you will incur before you can put shovel to ground; planning fees, water authority fees, SAP report (depending on how much glazing you have in your extension), draining mapping survey ( if you have drains near where you are planning your extnsion), party wall costs, building control and possibly fees for a build over agreement depending on location of your drains. These can add up to a few thousands so I wouldn't spend so much on architect fees alone.

£9k–£12k plus VAT for stages 1–3 isn’t automatically wrong in London, but the label alone doesn’t tell you what you get. Ask each practice for a written scope: measured survey, options/space planning, planning drawings and submission, structural-engineer coordination, and the number of revisions and meetings. Check whether VAT, planning fees, surveys, structural design and later Building Regs or tender drawings are excluded.

For a ground-floor renovation with a modest side extension, an architectural technologist or architectural designer may be perfectly suitable, provided they have solid experience with similar existing houses and can produce coordinated technical drawings. The important test is not the title; ask to see a couple of completed jobs and, if possible, speak to the owners.

I wouldn’t focus too much on small-practice balance sheets: many are owner-run and accounts don’t show their workload or the quality of service. Protect yourself with staged payments, a clear termination clause, professional indemnity cover and a defined deliverable before signing. Get the space-planning brief agreed first, then compare like-for-like quotes rather than simply trying to bargain.

The Companies House pattern you found is normal for small practices rather than a red flag - most small architecture firms are structured so the director takes the money out as salary and dividends each year, which is why the balance sheet shows almost no assets and tiny profits or losses. The distress signals that actually matter are different:: late filing, CCJs, directors resigning, or net liabilities growing year on year. If none of those appear, the firm is probably just a lean lifestyle buisness. On bargaining:: yes, fees are negotiable, but the stronger lever is scope rather than rate. Ask each practice to quote stages 1-2 (concept through planning) as a fixed price against an identical written brief, so you are comparing like for like, and leave the technical stages to be priced later - you may not even need them from the same firm. A straightforward side return in NW London is bread-and-butter work and there is a lot of supply, so three comparable quotes will usually produce a wide spread. And as others have said, for this scale of project an architectural technologist or a well-reviewed building designer often does the same job for a fraction of the fee - the RIBA badge buys you design ambition and process, which matters on complex or listed work but is less load-bearing on a side return.

No view on cost itself, but would be careful taking advise here on how much people are prepared to pay. I am looking in this area, and visited numerous houses where an architect was used while other houses did not claim as much (hence assuming they used their builder or surveyor). There is a clear look you are getting with a quality architects, whether it’s the light, the space use or how the house flow that will not be replicated with a technical engineer whose main prerogative is that the building is sound. If you are in London, 10k is unfortunately a fraction of the 200-500k it will cost you to extend so it’s all relative. Now it all depend on how premium you want the result to be, not everyone will care and rightly be satisfied with a functional extension

Thank you, @Brigadeiros and @HouseHuntingAmy - your perspectives are insightful.
I am looking for options on reconfiguring space, so probably do need a proper architect after all, whether or not RIBA certified. The renovation will involve moving walls if i am to get optimal use of space, and not just adding a room to the side.
The £200 to 500k range (if you meant it) worries me though. My budget was 150k including all architect and builder, material cost. And that included a new kitchen, ideally.

Just so you know the term architect can only be used by someone registered with RIBA. Anyone claiming to be an architect and not registered is not.

I dont think that is accurate. Architects have to be registered with the ARB. RIBA is a voluntary body - optional for architects to be a charter holder.

If it helps, 150k is workable for a side return plus some internal reconfiguration if you hold the spec steady - the 200-500k range is real for bigger or more premium projects, but a straightforward side return with a few walls moved is usually quoted well under that in NW London. The two places budgets leak are the kitchen, so decide that range before you brief anyone, and structural surprises once walls come out, so a measured survey and an hour of a structural engineer's time early on is money well spent. On moving walls specifically - that is exactly where a few hours of a good architect earns its fee in the layout, even if you only buy the concept stage and hand their drawings to a technologist for the technical side.