'HOKO Design can be global player in architecture industry', says Helensburgh founder

The Rhu native launched HOKO Design in 2019, and the company has just opened six new studios as part of an expansion across the UK.

Having exploited a gap in the market two years ago to offer a simplified home renovation process for customers, and promised to “fix the broken model” within the residential architecture industry, Danny now has truly global aspirations.

“The idea is to get full UK coverage within the next 12 months or so,” he told the Advertiser, “and we’ll be launching a crowdfunding campaign shortly to allow us to improve our offering even more and give everyday people an opportunity to buy in.

“We’re surely one of the fastest growing companies in Scotland, certainly we are in the start-up scene and in terms of architecture we’ve definitely got the potential to become one of the largest UK firms.

“We’ve got international ambitions as well. On Houzz – which is the biggest home renovation online platform in the world – we’re ranked seventh out of 14,000 architects in the UK.

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“From a wee guy who went to Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, that’s a huge achievement.”

Entrepreneur Danny founded HOKO with the aim of creating a ‘one-stop-shop’ client experience for homeowners seeking to improve their living spaces with the help of architecture and design experts.

The streamlined process features cutting-edge technology including virtual reality and a full interior design service, and the 30-year-old admits that it has taken time to win over some of his more traditional critics.

HOKO offers innovative solutions to architecture problems

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” he said, “but quite a successful one so far.

“I don’t think the industry has changed very much since we launched a couple of years ago.

“The thing with the architecture industry is there’s such a huge barrier to entry that it struggles to change or innovate.

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“What we’re doing is really special, it’s super unique.

“The fundamental thing for us is we’ve taken a really fragmented market – individual one-man bands who do a very good job but struggle because they’re burdened with all the admin and different bits and bobs they have to do.

“What we’ve done is restarted the process, torn up the architecture rule book and looked at it all from the perspective of the homeowner.

“The homeowner is perceived as the nightmare client generally by architects, because they’re emotional, they’ve never done it before, sometimes they don’t know what they want, but we’ve basically created a process that works perfectly for them.

“In 2019 some of the responses from the industry were quite damning.

“I got referred to in one article as being an “entitled graduate”, and they didn’t give me three months, so it’s one of those things where we have put a few noses out of joint because people can see how obvious it is what we’re doing.”

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After coming through a slight – and entirely predictable – downturn due to the pandemic, Danny believes now is the perfect time to grow HOKO further, with lockdown helping to drive unprecedented demand in the housing and home improvement market.

Scottish property prices have soared to new highs so far this year, with a near 11 per cent rise in the year to March, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

With more prospective buyers and a shortage of houses on the market, Danny is confident his business can capitalise on those who turn their focus instead to upgrading their current property.

He said: “The home renovation market was one of the sectors that was least affected, that being said we did see an impact, but fortune favours the brave sometimes and we decided that if we’re ever going to go for it we might as well do it now.

Danny Campbell is hoping to expand his business further this year and next

“Improving our homes is such an innate, sort of primal, instinct and there will always be a demand for it. With people having been stuck at home for so long, that’s even more relevant.

“A lot of people end up looking at the ‘don’t move, improve’ idea.

“It’s a seller’s market right now, so I think the people who are smart will maybe invest in what they’ve already got and making that better.

“In the last recession in 2008, the home residual sector boomed when everything came to its knees, and I think that’s going to happen for us as well, so it’s a really good time for us.

“If you look at the companies that emerged from the last recession: you’ve got Airbnb, Netflix, some really big, innovative players, and I think HOKO is potentially going to be one of those this time.”