When Alistair Lea and Shehan Heguragamage first met at university in Aberdeen they had no idea they’d end up running a £1m business.
After years of studying together they launched their architectural surveying firm Archilink.
Now, six years later, the pair are on track to break £1m turnover and open a new office.
The team has also trebled from two to six in the same period.
Alistair has described their business journey as “amazing” as the duo keep breaking milestones.
Archilink record revenue
Archilink, based in the city’s Neo House in Riverside Drive, uses “cutting-edge” technologies to deliver “fast, detailed, data-led” surveys for architects, resulting in 2D and 3D models.
The company believes this allows architects to make quicker and more informed design decisions by reducing the need for repeated site visits, saving both time and resources for clients.
Alistair, 28, said: “We both moved to Aberdeen to study architecture at Robert Gordon’s and met on the first day.
“We’ve been friends ever since.
“In just six years, we’ve increased our revenue to nearly £1 million, our team has grown from two to six people and last year we opened our second office in Glasgow, alongside our original location in Aberdeen.”
Funding boost
In 2018 the pair were given a boost when they received £10,000 through the Sir Ian Wood Accelerator programme and it was followed by £15,000 from Scottish Edge.
Alistair said: “After securing successful grant funding from Sir Ian Wood and Scottish Edge, we quickly gained momentum, reaching a turnover of £125,000 in 2021.
“By the time we graduated we were making just enough money to make it a real job.
“First day after graduation we took the leap and went full-time with the company.
“This year we’re going to break one million pounds so it’s come a long way.
“It’s amazing. I mean we keep sort of having these milestones that we think are totally impossible and we keep going through them.”
Keep hitting milestones
The company currently works with 234 clients on a range of projects, from
residential to large commercial and mixed-use buildings.
Notable projects in Aberdeen includes remodelling the Jamieson & Carry building and six other buildings in Union Street.
The company, which as four employees in Aberdeen, is on track to open a new office in Manchester this year and will be looking to expand its team to eight people.
Alistair said: “With our base in Aberdeen and then Glasgow it made sense to open in Manchester.
“We can cover a large area geographically.
“Everything is going great for us and we keep hitting those milestones. It’s an awesome spot to be in.”
Conversation