The Shareholders’ Agreement

On July 1, 1993, partner Peter Epting introduced the groundbreaking shareholders’ agreement. To this day, it provides for partners, associate partners and associated staff to have a stake in the company. The agreement also stipulates that the acquisition of shares should be confined to people working for the company, besides the Brunelleschi Foundation. 

When the agreement was introduced, the share capital totaled CHF 3.3 million and was divided into 3,300 registered shares of CHF 1,000 each. The Brunelleschi Foundation was authorized to hold no more than 30% of the share capital or a maximum of 650 shares. The stock ownership per shareholder was also limited to 30%. Partners were allowed to sell their shares only upon or after ceasing to work actively for the company. If a partner intended to sell his shares, he was obliged to first offer them to the Foundation or the company. To control the development of the share price in economic boom times, the average annual increase in the share price was capped in 1994.

To this day, this shareholder agreement, which is rather unusual for an architectural office, has contributed significantly to Burckhardt’s success. Not only did it lay the foundation for the independence and autonomy of the company, but the participation options have led and continue to lead to the staff identifying strongly with the company. 

At the end of 2024, a broad base of more than 60 employees holds shares in Burckhardt. In order to safeguard the future of the agreement, it was updated in 2022 to comply with new legal requirements.