Industry survey highlights Planning Potential’s exceptional growth in challenging markets

It is November which, once again, means it is time for the publication of the annual Planning Consultancy Survey from industry journal ‘Planning’. 2018 saw the business perform strongly in the survey rankings, and this was continued throughout 2019.

Thanks to a healthy project pipeline and a diverse client base, Planning Potential came 23^rd in the highest earning consultancies category. The business hit its prediction of a five per cent increase in fee income on the previous year.

Planning Potential also maintains its position within the top 30 largest employers of town planners in the UK and is the 15^th largest employer of RTPI students and licentiates, reflecting a continued commitment to career development. Planning Potential increased its total number of staff to 38 employees across its 3 regional offices

The headline figures lie within the breakdown of income by sector. The business remains within the top 10 of the highest earning companies in two sectors, holding onto its sixth place spot in Leisure and Sport, and moving up one place to seventh in Retail.

Impressively, the business increased its income within the Retail sector by seven per cent, despite an estimated retail sector growth of minus one per cent in the period 2018/19. The business also exceeded expectations within the Leisure sector, seeing an income growth of eleven per cent while the sector grew by an estimated three per cent. In an exceedingly challenging market, Planning Potential’s ability to draw on a wealth of in-house expertise, and a dynamic approach to projects, has allowed the business to buck prevailing market trends.

Looking ahead to the start of a new decade, Planning Potential will celebrate its 15^th anniversary in April 2020. “We are looking forward to celebrating this important milestone” says Director Helen Cuthbert. “We are proud to employ a large number of young planners, supporting and helping them to progress within the planning profession, and we aim to achieve another year of sustainable growth in 2019/20”.