UK Facilities Management Costs Set to Rise, Energy Prices to Fall, BCIS Forecasts
Maintenance, cleaning, and energy costs for facilities management in the United Kingdom are facing divergent trends, according to the latest five-year forecast from the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS). While maintenance and cleaning expenses are projected to increase significantly, energy costs are expected to decline over the period from 2025 to 2030.
The BCIS forecast, published on , predicts that maintenance costs, as measured by the BCIS All-in Maintenance Cost Indices, will rise by 15% by . Cleaning costs are anticipated to see an even steeper increase of 23% over the same timeframe, largely driven by escalating labour costs. Conversely, energy costs are forecast to fall by approximately 25% between 2025 and 2030.
Dr. David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, highlighted the challenging economic conditions impacting the repair and maintenance sector. “The UK economy continues to experience uneven and sluggish growth, with challenging business conditions constraining activity across the repair and maintenance sector,” he said. “Ongoing uncertainty around budgets and investment decisions, combined with persistently high inflation and fragile business confidence, is limiting growth to modest levels.”
Labour costs are identified as the primary driver of inflation in both maintenance and cleaning. While broader inflationary pressures may ease, Dr. Crosthwaite noted that funding constraints mean cost control remains a critical challenge for facility managers.
Repair and maintenance (R&M) output is forecast to increase by 9% between 2025 and 2030, following an expected 1.4% increase in 2025. BCIS expects annual increases in all R&M sub-sectors apart from public non-housing in 2024, with overall growth of 3.6% for the year.
A separate report from , also from BCIS, indicated that increases in the National Living Wage and employer National Insurance contributions will further contribute to rising labour costs, particularly impacting cleaning expenses.
Karl Horton, Chief Data Officer at BCIS, stated, “The UK’s economy is restrained due to fragile business confidence after the Autumn Budget. High borrowing costs, a lack of skilled labour, rising labour costs, and a high level of insolvency continue to threaten the facility management, building services and occupant support services.”
The forecast projects R&M output will rise 9.2% in the five years to , with a near-term slump in the annual growth rate followed by steady growth for the remainder of the forecast period.
These forecasts come amid broader economic shifts. In , the UK increased the financial savings requirements for international students for the first time since 2020, impacting students arriving on or after . Students heading to London now need to demonstrate £1,483 per month in savings, while those studying elsewhere in the UK must show £1,136. These requirements are tied to domestic maintenance loan increases, which hadn’t been updated since 2020.
While the BCIS forecast focuses on facilities management costs, the wider economic context suggests ongoing pressures on budgets and investment decisions, impacting various sectors. The combination of rising labour costs, fragile business confidence, and economic uncertainty presents a complex landscape for facility managers and businesses across the UK.
