GLM 20 Years: A History of GLM
Twenty years ago, David Gibbon and his young mentees turned trusted colleagues, Ian McKee and Doug Lawson, joined forces and toasted to a bright future as GLM, Edinburgh’s newest and brightest building surveying consultancy. 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of GLM as we all know it today, but the reality is that GLM is the product of a long standing practice that has been operating for the past 30 years.
It all started back in 1985 when native Scotsman David Gibbon, after spending 12 years working as a chartered building surveyor in Liverpool, decided to move to Edinburgh. As he investigated the state of the industry in Edinburgh, he noticed an absence of building surveying firms that operated as a standalone practice. After recognizing this hole in the market, David set up the Edinburgh office of Povall Worthington, a multi-disciplinary firm of architects and building surveyors based in Liverpool with offices spreading all over the UK.
Doug Lawson joined Povall Worthington in 1989 followed by Ian McKee in 1992. Ian met David at his alma mater, Heriot Watt, where David was serving as an external examiner. As young building surveyors eager to hone their skills and learn from the best, Ian and Doug were thrilled to accept positions with David at Povall Worthington so soon after earning their degrees.
In 1995, David and Povall Worthington parted company by mutual agreement and Doug and Ian jumped at the opportunity to join forces with David and start their own practice. It was in 1996 that they commenced trading as GLM.
GLM started out as a design orientated building surveying practice that infused a strong sense of creativity into the practicalities of the building surveying profession. GLM employed architects from the start as a way to round out their skills and offering – a rare but advantageous combination of disciplines. Over time, as GLM’s architects started winning high profile awards and developing a strong reputation in the market, the architectural capabilities of the firm became a major component of the service.
20 years later it is safe to say that David, Ian and Doug have built up the practice they always envisioned. Although Doug parted ways with the firm back in 2009 to lay on the beach in Australia (just kidding, Doug!), GLM is stronger than ever with a dedicated board of Directors and a staff of fifteen. A big thank you to everyone who helped us along the way and joined us for our 20th anniversary celebration back in December. Here’s to the next 20 years!