Anjuinta Court care home in Bedford, completed by The Tooley and Foster Partnership in 2009 Tooley Foster has ceased trading after 132 years, following issues with the price of professional indemnity (PI) insurance The studio was one of the oldest architectural practices in the world, having been founded by Herbert Tooley in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, in 1892. It became Tooley & Foster Partnership in 1910, rebranding as Tooley Foster in 2021, when it boasted a workforce of 30 people.But the practices main trading arm, Tooley Foster 1982 Limited, entered voluntary liquidation at the end of last year owing 1.6 million, with total assets estimated to be worth just 138,000.Now a secondary company, The Tooley & Foster Partnership LLP, has entered liquidation this week. The groups employee benefit trust, Tooley Foster Trustees Limited, is set to be dissolved later this month.AdvertisementLiquidator Stewart Bennett of S T Bennett & Co told the AJ that directors had opted to wind up the practice as work was drying up and because it struggled to afford PI insurance in the wake of claims brought against the practice, with quotes coming in at 17,000 a month.In August 2024 Vistry Partnerships launched legal action against The Tooley & Foster Partnership LLP and other consultants, although details of the case are yet to be published.Tooley Foster, a one-time AJ100 member, specialised in education and health work since its inception, but also worked on commercial, care home and a range of housing projects.At the time of entering liquidation the main company (Tooley Foster 1982 Limited) owed 23,000 to trade creditors, 272,000 to employees, 611,000 to directors, 50,000 to banks and 86,000 to HM Revenue and Customs.A full statement of affairs for The Tooley & Foster Partnership LLP has not yet been made public.AdvertisementLast month 50-year-old Manchester and Sheffield-based MHA Architects entered voluntary liquidation, with company director Jimmy Lennon telling the AJ that the principal cause of its demise was the cost of PI insurance.The AJ has attempted to contact Tooley Fosters former directors.Saffron Hall, a building for Saffron Walden County High School completed by The Tooley and Foster Partnership in 20142025-04-03Will Ingcomment and share