The highly competitive Facility Management market is experiencing unprecedented growth. What are its scope, challenges and prospects for Equans? Laurent Patry, Global Facility Management Expert for the business, provides the answers.
Hello Laurent, you oversee Equans’ FM business. What does this involve?
Facility Management (FM) covers all activities related to building management. It is a very broad field that addresses all economic players, both public and private, and all types of buildings: offices, production sites, research centres, ministries, public buildings and facilities, hospitals, military sites, museums, stadiums, airports, etc.
It includes preventive and corrective maintenance, regulatory compliance and energy management for buildings. It also includes services for occupants, such as cleaning, security and catering.
Within Equans, the business represents more than €4 billion, a presence in 17 countries, 23,000 highly qualified engineers and technicians, a network of 250 partners ready to respond, and a local network that allows us to be as close as possible to our customers' needs in most of the countries where we operate.
The FM market has been growing steadily for several years. How do you explain this?
The global market value is estimated at $1.62 trillion by 2026 and is expected to reach an annual growth rate of 8.20% in Europe over the period 2024-2031.
This is colossal and can be explained in two ways. Firstly, by a strong trend towards outsourcing: 70% of companies in Europe outsource all or part of their facility and service maintenance and management needs. This figure rises to 85% in large companies. Secondly, there is the expected increase in spending on building energy performance, which is set to rise by around 15% per year between now and 2030.
The building sector is the leading source of carbon emissions in developed countries. In 2022, buildings accounted for 37% of the global carbon footprint linked to energy and operations, or just under 10 Gt of CO2.1 The decarbonisation of buildings is one of the great challenges of our time. Faced with the climate emergency, tougher regulations (Tertiary Decree, BACS, CSRD, etc.) and rising energy costs, all economic players are mobilising to accelerate the transition to more energy-efficient, sustainable and resilient buildings.
The need to improve the resilience of buildings in the face of climate change and the increasing digitalisation of services, with the advent of AI and its impact on system automation and predictive building management, are also driving the market.
“ A building is a high-value asset whose value must be enhanced over time ”
What is Equans' position in this market?
The market is highly competitive both globally and nationally. It brings together players from the construction, energy, cleaning and property management sectors with extensive multi-technical and multi-service expertise.
We are the market leader in France and enjoy a privileged position as a legitimate and recognised player at European level. We have over 30 years of expertise in this field and a strong capacity to integrate all the expertise and technical solutions required to manage these property assets throughout their life cycle, including in critical environments. This is what appeals to our customers.
More specifically, where does Equans' added value lie?
For Equans, a building is much more than just walls and systems to maintain. It is a valuable asset that must be managed and controlled over time in order to increase its value. Financial optimisation is therefore inseparable from technical, organisational and energy optimisation. We see FM as a lever that activates all aspects of value creation throughout a building's life cycle.
To this end, we develop tailor-made integrated offerings and a wide range of contractual solutions that cover all of our clients' performance challenges.
Our other key asset is our "doers" model, which places engineering and technical expertise at the heart of our know-how. Our main hallmarks are our technical expertise, our local presence and our ability to deliver technical services and works in-house. We have a holistic view of our business, drawing on all the Group's strengths and expertise. We deliver over 85% of our projects ourselves, which allows us to control the safety, compliance and quality of service delivery throughout the value chain. This is essential in markets that rely on long-term partnerships. It creates lasting trust.
Including on the issues of sustainability and data, which are at the heart of today's challenges?
Yes, of course. Reducing the environmental footprint of buildings and integrating new technologies – including AI – as a key to analysis and optimisation are central to this. All customers are focused on their energy performance and their Net Zero Carbon trajectory. We help them consume less, in a more environmentally friendly and flexible way, by encouraging the circular economy.
This leads us to map greenhouse gas emissions, establish carbon footprints and then project decarbonisation trajectories for the buildings we manage, as is the case at TF1's headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt and for the British Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom.
This involves collecting and analysing data. It enables our engineers to maximise asset performance and anticipate the replacement of inefficient systems in order to limit energy waste and support our clients in their trajectory. In this context, we deploy AI-enhanced BIM models, as is the case at the Centrale Supelec Campus in Paris-Saclay.
Finally, we are working on the resilience of these same buildings in the face of future climate change through predictive analytics, and we are also able to carry out the resulting modernisation/upgrade work.
You have recently won some major contracts. How are they emblematic of the relevance of this integrated approach?
Whether in the public or private sector, our portfolio consists mainly of multi-year contracts. The renewal of these contracts is in itself a tremendous indicator of our operational performance and our ability to develop long-term partnerships. The 10-year renewal in 2023 of our contract to manage European Union buildings in Brussels is part of this approach. It also clearly illustrates our ability to combine operation and maintenance with energy optimisation and modernisation work.
At the same time, we need to remain efficient and innovative to win new contracts. Our most recent wins, such as the production of the General Electric Vernova headquarters website, validate our systemic approach, grounded in operational excellence, the integration of decarbonisation challenges, and cross-functional expertise.
FM in 5 key points
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Over 30 years of recognised expertise in facility maintenance and lifecycle management
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A wide range of activities, from the tertiary sector (offices, data centres, airports) to industry (production sites, R&D sites, etc.), including the hospital sector and the public sphere (public buildings, military sites, stadiums, prisons, schools, museums, etc.)
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Long-term contracts signed with 50% in the public sector and 50% in the private sector.
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Integrated solutions covering end-to-end management, maintenance and technical, energy, service and environmental upgrades for buildings throughout their life cycle
- €4.2 billion in revenue, 23,000 highly qualified and certified technicians.
