The UK facilities management market is set to grow to £117.2 billion by 2017, according to the business to business market research company Market & Customer Insight (MCi). Annual growth levels are expected to fluctuate around 2% in real terms.
The market in 2012, including contracted out services (single service and bundled services contracts), facilities management contracts as well as ancillary services carried-out by in-house staff, was valued as £106.3 billion. This followed modest growth in the market in 2011, after a year of little change in 2010, and a decline in 2009. However, in 2012 there was a notable shift again to outsourcing of contracts both individually and through a greater proportional importance of the facilities management sector.
The continued trend towards outsourcing is expected to ensure future growth opportunities for facilities management companies, with bundled services and integrated solutions, in particular showing the strongest growth potential. However, increased price competition, and with clients adopting a “more for less” attitude, can be expected to restrict a stronger value development. In the public sector, spending cuts will afford further opportunities, though price competition is expected to remain intense, but MCi also believe there is a changing culture in a number of public sector bodies towards contracting out services.
