UK firm Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has transitioned into employee ownership through an employee benefit trust.
The move follows Hadid’s death in 2016, which was followed by disputes between director Patrik Schumacher, niece Rana Hadid and two other parties over her estate and the running of the company.
In 2018, Schumacher began an unsuccessful High Court action as part of a bid to replace Hadid’s friends Peter Palumbo and Brian Clarke and her niece, who were appointed as co-executors of her £100m estate.
The trust has no external shareholders, meaning that all profits will be reinvested in the company.
ZHA said in a press release that the transition would improve accessibility and egalitarianism in the profession, and quotes a comment made by Hadid 2011 in which she said: “I think there should be no end to experimentation.”
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