Total facilities management and soft services contracts are a significant part of public sector outsourcing. NHS estates, councils and universities regularly procure FM services covering multiple trades under a single contract.
Government FM contracts range from total FM covering all building services to soft services contracts for cleaning, waste, catering and reception. Hard FM includes mechanical and electrical maintenance, compliance testing and building fabric repairs. Contracts are often long-term with stable recurring income.
Facilities management contracts are among the largest and longest in public procurement, which makes them both attractive and difficult for smaller providers. A total FM contract covering an NHS trust estate might run seven years and cover every building service from boiler maintenance to reception staffing. These are genuinely hard for a small firm to win outright.
The realistic route in is to understand how these contracts are structured. Buyers frequently split FM into lots — hard services separately from soft services, or by geography — specifically to widen the supplier pool. A firm strong in mechanical and electrical maintenance can bid the hard FM lot without needing catering or security capability.
Where you do bid for bundled services, the scored question is invariably about how you manage what you do not self-deliver. Buyers are not opposed to subcontracting; they are opposed to losing visibility. A clear description of how you select, monitor, quality-assure and performance-manage your specialist subcontractors is what earns the marks.
ISO certifications carry more weight here than in most sectors. On larger FM contracts, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 are frequently mandatory rather than desirable, and the absence of any one of them can exclude a bid at compliance stage regardless of its quality.
£50,000 to £5M+
Hard FM covers the physical building and its systems — mechanical and electrical maintenance, compliance testing, fabric repairs and plant. Soft FM covers people-facing services such as cleaning, catering, waste, reception, portering and grounds. Total FM means one contractor delivers both.
Yes, particularly where contracts are divided into lots. Many buyers deliberately split hard and soft services, or split by geography, to widen the supplier pool. Bidding a single lot that matches your genuine self-delivery capability is far more realistic than chasing a total FM contract.
No. Subcontracting specialist trades is normal and accepted. What buyers scrutinise is how you manage subcontractors — selection, induction, quality assurance, performance monitoring and how you retain accountability. Have a documented process you can describe clearly.
ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety are the three most commonly requested. On larger contracts they are frequently mandatory rather than desirable, so missing one can exclude your bid entirely.
TUPE is almost always present because FM contracts involve existing staff delivering an ongoing service. Incumbent employees transfer to you on their existing terms. You should request the employee liability information early, price on those inherited costs, and include a clear statement of how you will manage consultation and transfer.
Typically three to seven years, often with extension options. The long duration reflects the cost and disruption of mobilising a new provider, and it is what makes these contracts valuable — but it also means the opportunities come around infrequently.