become increasingly competitive, they have become aware of the need to put their heads above the parapet to ensure they’re not overlooked. Some have opted to differentiate themselves as specialists in particular areas, for instance in catering, cleaning or M&E, but an increasing number are building on that specialism and either through organic growth or acquisition are developing Total Facilities Management (TFM) or integrated FM supplier models. However, with increased publicity comes greater accountability should something go wrong. Within a service-led industry, failing to meet expectations or gaining a poor reputation can spell serious trouble for business - the most extreme case within the wider FM services sector being G4S which appears to lurch from one crisis to another. A further complication for some of the bigger names is in convincing shareholders, clients and other stakeholders that they’re still a trusted brand. For instance, it’s been a traumatic year for some of the big players in facilities management. Carillion recently reported a pre-tax loss for the first half of 2017 of £1.153m; while losses have prompted Mitie to implement a wide-ranging efficiency programme and to cultivate an ongoing upbeat message to reassure the markets that they’re still a reliable name. Yet while some of the bigger brands have struggled over the past year, a number of smaller and up-and-coming providers have reported exponential growth. This is why the 2017 i-FM Brands Survey focuses on the level of brand awareness rather than market share, to provide valuable insight into levels of brand recognition and discover the trends and perceptions among customers, employees, competitors, advisors and even potential employees within the sector. This annual survey exploring perceptions of the leading brands in the facilities management marketplace was carried out in August and September 2017, supported by Magenta, the public relations and communications specialist for the built environment. This year has seen a higher level of consolidation in the market, with a greater number of mergers and acquisitions than in previous years. Yet the FM market continues to be competitive and diverse. While a number of big brands remain foremost in respondents’ minds there is a range of up-and-coming brands improving their recognition levels. We’ve adjusted some of the questions for this year to gauge people’s impressions of the entire sector, including their impression of the size of the market, who they think of as big or small suppliers and their views on the incursion of the real estate brands into FM. What we wanted to establish was how respondents see the FM marketplace as a whole. Is there consensus in their perception of the leading players? Who are the up-and-coming brands, and which ones do respondents rate and why? Top brands and size of the market The FM sector doesn’t exist in isolation and there have been a number of external as well as internal influences over the past year including Brexit, the rise of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and a continued drive among some of the leading property services firms to establish a strong FM presence. Due in part to these factors, over the past year the FM market has had a resurgence in M&A activity. According to M&A experts Livingstone, overall FM deal activity in the UK increased from 26 transactions in 2012 to 51 in
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