CMPB switches to LLP

The move comes as part of a raft of changes at the firm, including plans to make at least three acquisitions.

Moving to LLP is aimed at attracting staff and modernising the firm, according to partner and head of project management Robert Ebdon. CMPB is meanwhile planning to buy practices in Scotland, Sheffield and Leeds as part of a strategy to extend its geographical reach. After this, Ebdon said the firm could open further offices and make more acquisitions.

In the past 18 months CMPB has opened branches in Manchester and Liverpool.The firm has also promoted three staff to partner. They are Stan Inskip, Steve Jopson and Stuart Strachan, each of whom has been with the firm for several years.

Turnover has increased 50% in the past three years to £5m and the firm says it is on target to continue this pace of growth during the coming year.

The partnership model has been around for hundreds of years and it was constraining us

Robert Ebdon, partner, CMPB

CMPB recently acquired John Cadman Associates, a small consultancy specialising in the sports sector. It is also targeting the educational sector, where it is already working on 12 city academy projects. Ebdon said he expected universities to offer the next big slice of work in the sector, particularly in Scotland. He said: "After what it's done for schools, the government will have to turn its attention to universities now, even if it's not for three or four years."

He said the move to LLP "establishes and modernises our framework legally and professionally, it's the right thing to do now for a firm our size. The partnership model has been around for hundreds of years and it was starting to constrain us. If you are looking for better people who want to develop their careers, you need an approach more akin to a corporate structure."

In line with this more "corporate" approach, the 60-strong firm has taken on a practice manager, Alison Devlin, and a marketing assistant, Jessica Hardy.