Many facilities management leaders have shared that while traditional market reports from Frost & Sullivan, Mintel or Mordor Intelligence provide polished overviews, they often struggle to find clear evidence to justify significant investment decisions. Over the past decade, FM has become a sector awash with forecasts of sweeping transformation, driven by technology providers and consultants eager to position themselves at the forefront of innovation. Yet the reality, evident in procurement notices and awarded contracts, is typically far more measured and incremental.

At Baachu, we have chosen to build our market intelligence on a more robust and transparent foundation. Rather than relying solely on surveys or vendor interviews, our team has assembled a structured dataset of over 10,800 operational FM contracts. Each record is derived from published award notices, public sector frameworks, formal FOI disclosures or verified submissions directly from service providers. Every data point is validated for contract scope, value, award date and duration before being incorporated into our analysis.

This approach means that each figure we publish—whether an estimate of market size or a breakdown by service type—can be traced to actual transactions rather than projected intentions. Unlike many desk-based models that extrapolate trends from limited survey samples or third-party commentary, this method allows us to capture the composition of the UK FM market as it is, not as suppliers hope it will become.

For instance, when assessing the prevalence of smart building technologies, it is common to encounter claims that upwards of 40 or 50 per cent of FM contracts now reference sensors, analytics platforms or digital twins. In contrast, our analysis of contracts awarded in 2024 revealed that fewer than one in ten contained any provision for advanced IoT or digital twin integration. Similarly, while many publications still promote integrated FM as the dominant delivery model, we see clear evidence that a growing proportion of public bodies are reverting to single-service contracts to improve accountability and manage budgets more effectively.

This level of granularity enables us to produce segmentation that supports informed planning rather than generic assumptions. Instead of presenting FM as a single aggregated figure, we can show precisely how spending divides between hard FM and soft FM, how public sector and private sector contracts differ, and where service bundling remains commercially viable.

Clients often ask what this means for practical decision-making. The answer is that our data provides a more grounded benchmark. FM operators preparing a bid can test their assumptions about contract values, service specifications and renewal cycles against actual awarded contracts rather than relying on broad forecasts. Investors building an acquisition case can see which sectors are expanding, which are flat and which are fragmenting. Procurement leaders considering their next tender can examine what has worked in similar organisations.

We recognise that no single approach meets every need. There are situations where large-scale reports from Frost & Sullivan or Mintel can still be valuable, especially for monitoring global regulatory trends or broader economic shifts. However, when a decision requires clarity on what is genuinely being procured in the UK today, relying exclusively on high-level modelling carries obvious risks.

Our aim is not simply to challenge conventional thinking for the sake of it, but to equip FM professionals, investors and policymakers with evidence robust enough to underpin strategy with confidence. For this reason, Baachu FM market reports are updated regularly, with new contract records incorporated to reflect current procurement activity. The result is an independent view of facilities management in the UK that is transparent, specific and based on real transactions, not recycled projections. If you are comparing FM market reports whether from Baachu, Frost & Sullivan, Mordor Intelligence or other sources and want to see the differences for yourself, we are always happy to share examples and answer questions. You can learn more about the latest UK FM Market Report, refreshed in June 2025, here: Explore the Full Baachu FM Market Report

If you would prefer an invoice or wish to discuss how this evidence-led approach can support your planning, please get in touch. We’re here to help you make decisions grounded in verifiable data rather than hopeful assumptions.