London-based practice YRM is set to be bought by RMJM with just six of its 25 staff being kept on, BD understands.

The firm, which was the first architecture practice to listed on the London Stock Exchange in the late 1980s, is believed to be on the verge of being bought by the Scottish practice, which is taking it over for its nuclear and airports work. A RMJM spokesman said: “We never comment on speculation.”

BD has been told six staff will make the move across to RMJM when the deal is completed including chief executive John Clemow, who has been with the business since 1978, and director Iain McDonald. Three associates are also due to make the jump – James Thomas, Peter Greiner and Jonathan Ray. A sixth, architect Adrian Wiehahn, is also understood to be safe.

One source said staff, who are alleged to have not been paid since October, had been promised their missing wages last month but claimed they “have been given the runaround by YRM directors” as part of a strategy to “avoid staff breaking silence on the state of the YRM situation”. The source added: “It’s a sad end to a great practice.” It was founded in 1944 by FRS Yorke, Eugene Rosenberg and Cyril Mardall.

Clemow, who declined to comment, had earlier blamed the cost of closing its offices in Vienna and Bucharest for the firm’s problems and that its workload had fallen from the middle of this year. He added it was clear YRM “needed to join with a larger, stronger firm”.

The firm last month submitted plans for a new nuclear power station in Somerset called Hinkley Point C. It will be operated by French utility giant EDF Energy.