Industry report: Facilities Management and Building Services

Driven by statutory compliance demand, UK facilities management and building services M&A remains active in 2026, led by private equity backed consolidation of technical services and rising interest in consultancy.

In our latest industry report, Partner, Sam Barr, Director, Jack Bettell and Manager, Jack Abrahams explore the trends driving activity across the sector and showcase a selection of recent deals our Corporate Finance team has advised on.

Key takeaways from the facilities management and building services report include:

• Technical services lead deal flow – Of 211 publicly announced UK facilities management and building services deals between January and October 2026, 68% were in technical services: M&E and building maintenance, fire and security, compliance and testing, and lifts.
• Defensive, regulated demand – Statutory inspection cycles underpin demand through the economic cycle, and the government estate carries a maintenance backlog of at least £49 billion. Buyers see physical, certified on site work as a hedge against AI.
  
• Favourable outlook for quality assets – Businesses with predictable, recurring maintenance and inspection income, healthy margins and a diverse customer base attract the most buyer interest.
• PE led consolidation – Sponsor-backed buyers made 59% of deals, rising to 69% in fire, compliance and lifts, and four in five of their deals were bolt ons to existing platforms.