Founded in Glasgow, the women and LGBTQ+-led practice is known for its creativity embedding social value in place-based work across the UK through the delivery of award-winning community engagement, retrofit & reuse approaches, meanwhile use strategies and community-led regeneration projects.

This acquisition for Civic follows hot on the heels of the launch of new archaeological and heritage consultancy Civic Heritage earlier this month. Civic was set up to enable new complementary service offerings and to provide opportunities for growth, with a wider aim of achieving greater social and environmental impact so clients can benefit from an increased variety of services and exceptional quality project work. 

Founded in 2019, New Practice is headed up by directors Marc Cairns and Becca Thomas. The RIAS and RIBA chartered practice exists to develop the community, creative and cultural capacity of places and to connect people with the decision-making processes that underpin their lived experiences. 

It works on projects across the UK, including the award-winning community redevelopment of Kinning Park Complex, The Sustainable Glasgow Landing for COP26 and city-wide Liveable Neighbourhood consultations, as well as work for leading ESG developers such as Grosvenor, Regal London and LandsecU+I. It is currently the lead consultant authoring a number of community-led Place Plans across Scotland, including important work for rural communities in Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders.

Outside of Scotland, the firm is delivering work for local authorities including Blackpool Council, Ealing Council, and Hackney Council. 

New Practice director Marc Cairns said: “We are delighted that New Practice has been acquired by Civic. This is an incredibly exciting move which enables us to be part of a larger expert team. Whilst our focus on a day-to-day basis will still be on ensuring we deliver exceptional inclusive place-based projects, the support of the wider Civic team will help us to grow and allow our services to reach even more clients.”

Fellow director Becca Thomas added: “We have worked with the Civic Engineers team on a number of projects and known them for some time. It is very clear that we have aligned values, and a shared vision of creating communities that can thrive. The services we provide complement each other well and by becoming part of the team, we believe that we can have an even greater impact across the UK and Ireland, whilst continuing to provide leadership across social and environmental consciousness within the built environment.”

Stephen O’Malley, chief executive of Civic, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome New Practice to Civic. They have an impressive project portfolio and the services they provide along with their creativity and focus on inclusivity are a powerful addition to our offering.

“The creation of our parent company Civic enables us to carefully curate the services we offer, directly respond to the needs of our clients, and have greater collective impact. New Practice’s focus on embedding social value and real collaboration helps us to further build on all the brilliant work that Civic Engineers, Civic Earth and Civic Heritage are doing to help achieve our vision of having a positive impact on the environment and enabling people to lead happier and healthier lives.”