The market for external facility services in Austria will increase by 4.5% in 2018. The boom in office building services in particular is behind the industry’s significant growth in market volume. This trend will lead to a further increase in external real estate services in the future as well. The industry is thus expected to see an average annual increase of 4.6% to the year 2021

Offices Stepping on the Gas

The market for external facility management services will increase to nearly EUR 6.7 billion by 2021, thereby overtaking internal services to an ever greater degree. There are several reasons for this. Companies themselves promote outsourcing as they focus on their core business across all their divisions. New technologies require new types of maintenance and care, even if only a portion of the providers offer these options. With an increase of 6.2%, the customer segment office buildings was the driving force behind external real estate services in 2017. Such momentum is particularly striking since the segment clearly underperformed in the previous years. As a result of this vitality, offices have not only been able to catch up with industry’s rate of growth, but have actually overtaken it (6.2% to 4.6%).

Technical Services Catching Up

Once again, technical services outperformed all others, notching an increase of 6.3%. The tremendous need can be explained by both the continued outsourcing of services and the increase in production, trade, and logistics in the booming economy. Over the long term, technical services will see revenue growth at the expense of the currently dominant infrastructural services. The developments of infrastructural services’ sub-segments were quite varied. While office cleaning/janitorial grew strongly (+4.6%), catering managed a plus of only 3.2%. Growth in security, the other high-volume sub-segment, was also a sub-par 3.3%. “Since 2016, contracts have been expiring that were made during the refugee crisis,” explains Tobias Stickelberger, author of the study. Yet the general need for security has by no means diminished among customers. However, job qualifications have become more stringent, and so not every job can be carried out as requested because the staff is lacking, Stickelberger explains. The largest sub-segment in infrastructure management continues to be commercial cleaning, with a volume of EUR 1.7 billion, followed by security (EUR 652 million) and catering (EUR 608 million). The share of infrastructure services currently stands at 61.0%, ahead of technical services (32.7%) and entrepreneurial services (6.4%).

On account of the ongoing outsourcing of real estate services, growth in the external facility services sector will continue to far exceed inflation in the future. A new study by Interconnection Consulting foresees an average annual growth of 4.3% until 2021. For the first time, turnover in technical facility services in Germany was higher than that of infrastructural facility services.

Technical Services on the Rise

The overall market for external facility services in Germany succeeded in breaking the EUR 60 billion mark for the first time (EUR 60.3 billion). Since 2013, infrastructural and technical services in Germany have been roughly equal. However, on account of lower growth in 2017, infrastructural services are, for the first time, less valuable than technical services, which saw an increase of 5.6% in the previous year. Technological advances make infrastructure maintenance of a given property less labor-intensive and thus cheaper, and yet providers cannot just conjure up a slew of new services. Such is not the case in technical services, explains Tobias Stickelberger, author of the study. “Despite general deindustrialization, the advancement in the mechanization of buildings and facilities ends up generating increased revenue in this sector.”

Outsourcing the Driving Force Behind External Services

The market for external facility management services of all providers will expand to over EUR 71 billion by 2021. Companies tend to focus on their core business especially during difficult economic times and therefore outsource facility services. So it is not surprising that the outsourcing rate in 2017 was 56.87%. By comparison, the rate was under 50% in 2012. Overall, the external market increased by 4.7%, but the overall market for facility management (external plus internal) only by 2.1%.

Bitter Price War

The customer segment industry witnessed a growth of 5.0%, making it the leading segment ahead of transport at 5.1% and trade at 4.8%. 16.5% of all services were generated in the newly formed German states and Berlin, whereby the vitality (+4.3%) appears to be flattening again somewhat. Facility services providers complain of shorter contracts and the frequent need to renegotiate prices. “Even well-known providers are hardly able to distinguish themselves enough from the pack to make the price of secondary importance,” explains Stickelberger. Customers who advertise each maintenance group individually and negotiate strictly according to price are common. The top five companies hold 9.4% of the total market. The top ten have a share of 14.86%.

Turnover for external facility services (real estate services) increased by 3.5% in Germany in 2022 and amounts to 59 billion euros. A renewed growth of 8.2% is forecast for next year, according to a study by Interconnection Consulting.

The geomarketing study by Interconnection analyses the data of the facility services industry on the basis of existing space and surveyed average sales per service type at the county level (analysis of 402 counties). The strongest dynamics in the market for external facility services can be seen in the south and west of Germany.  In the district of Munich, the study forecasts an increase of 13.4% for 2023. Other districts in Bavaria show similarly high increases. However, the districts with the strongest declines are also found in Bavaria, especially in the region of Upper Franconia, but also in Hannover. Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia are also the federal states with the largest market volume. More than 20% of the industry’s total turnover is generated in the top 7 cities (Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, Hannover region, Stuttgart, Cologne, Düsseldorf).

Catering Highest Growth Potential

All four examined service segments (catering, cleaning, security, technical) show positive dynamics. Catering shows the greatest growth potential with a forecast increase of 10.2% for 2023-2024. This is followed by the segments of technology (9.1%), security (7.9%) and building cleaning at 7.5%. Overall, the technical services segment has the highest share with 52.7% or 31 billion euros in turnover. In 2023 this share will even rise to 54%. The building cleaning segment has a market share of 25.4%, security 14.6%. “The highest security demand is in the workshop building segment with 30%,” explains Yuliia Hrebenkova, the author of the study.

Hospitals Dispense with External Facility Management

In technical services, the largest segment, factories & workshops represent 30% of the total client portfolio. Offices & administrative buildings make up another 23.3% of the client base in the “Technical Services” segment. Commercial and warehouse buildings account for 8.1%.

The facility management market in the CEE countries Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) will return to growth this year (+3.8% in value) after its stagnation in 2020 (+0.1%). For the forecast period 2020 to 2024, a yearly increase of 3.6% on average is expected, as shown in a study by Interconnection Consulting.

The trend towards outsourcing of corporate real estate management activities continues. In 2013, this share was 30%, in 2024 it will be 39%. This means that the market is still far behind the mature Western European markets. Developments in the area of external facilities vary from country to country.

Poland Weathered the Crisis Well

In Poland the market for facility management actually grew by 2.0% last year. However, considering growth of 3.7% and 3.9% for 2021 and 2022, the dynamics in the coming years will be far behind the years before the pandemic. The market volume in 2020 was €12.9 billion, taking up two-thirds of the total market volume of the CEE-4 countries. The commercial sector was the largest customer segment in Poland in 2020, with a share of 29.8%, ahead of industry (27.0%) and healthcare (14.6%). The Hungarian market fell by 1.7% in 2020. The market volume was €2.9 billion in 2020 and will already exceed the pre-pandemic level in 2021. The Hungarian facility management market will grow by 5.1% per year on average until 2024. The commercial sector is the most important customer segment, with a share of one-third of the total market, followed by the industrial sector (24.7%). The pandemic hit the market in the Czech Republic and Slovakia harder than Hungary and Poland. Both countries suffered severe setbacks with declines of 4.2 and 6.7%, respectively. The reason was a drop in interest in outsourcing during the pandemic and, especially in the Czech Republic, an extremely hard lockdown. However, a rapid rebound is also expected for the Czech Republic with growth rates of 3.7% p.a. until 2024. The largest customer segment in the Czech Republic is industry with more than one-third of the market volume. The commercial sector follows with around a quarter and then the healthcare sector with 11.5%. In Slovakia, the industrial sector has a share of 40%, followed by the commercial sector.

Increased Demand for Cleaning

Overall, facility management can be divided into three core areas (infrastructure services, technical services, business services). Infrastructure is the strongest segment in the CEE-4 countries with 49.5%. This segment includes cleaning, security, catering, gardening, reception, whereby the cleaning sector grew especially in Poland in 2020 due to the increasing demand for disinfection services and the cleaning of e.g. fan systems. The technical services sector (2020: 37.3%) will grow more dynamically in the coming years. “The reason for the increase in technical services is the rising cost of energy and, as a result, a great demand for effective energy management,” says Katarina Gajdova, the author of the study.

Foreign Companies are Leaving Hungary

For many facility managers from Western Europe who pushed their expansion abroad, the CEE market, which is still not very “mature”, became a popular playground. In 2019, however, some companies decided to leave the Hungarian market for different reasons. For example, the Hungarian real estate developer Wing Zrt. acquired Strabag PFS, and in the same year, the Danish company ISS also decided to turn its back on the Hungarian market. The operational business was to be bought by the second strongest company on the Hungarian market, B + N Reference Zrt, but the transaction is still being examined by the European competition control. Major players in the CEE market are Atalian, Securitas, ENGIE, Compass Group, Sodexo, Okin Facility.

In 2018, Facility Management achieved a market volume of €89.0 Billion, which is a 3.2% increase compared to the previous year. A CAGR of 3.2 expected by 2021, as shown in a new study by Interconnection Consulting.

The development in Facility Management (real estate services) reflects the economic situation of a region. In the Nordic countries, subsidies and investments in the energy sector and sustainability benefit growth, resulting in a growth of 4.1% across all countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland) in 2018. Italy, on the other hand, still faces stagnation and instability in the financial sector, which in turn affects spending on external facility services. Last year the industry grew by 1.6%. However, the development of new projects and regained confidence will enable higher growth prospects (+ 3.1% per year) until 2021. The Benelux countries have a stable market with the same growth. For the past three years, the market rose by an average of 2.9% annually.

Infrastructure Services Moving Ahead

The facility management services can be divided into three categories – technical services, infrastructural services (catering, security, reception, gardening …) and the commercial sector. Infrastructure services make up the largest share at 53.6%. Growth in this sector was 3.5%. In Italy especially, cleaning and security as sectors enjoyed strong growth rates of 4.2% and 4.7%, respectively. Overall, technical services account for 34.2% of the market. In the Nordic countries, the technical sector has a disproportionate share of 38.2%, due to the high importance of and dependence on fossil fuels in countries like Norway.  Commercial services hold a share of 12.2%. The best growth prospects are in the technical sector, which is expected to increase by an average of 4.1% for the next few years. The commercial sector however is faced with the bleak prospect of a 0.7% annual decline over the next few years.

The State Drives Business

Office space/department stores are the largest customer segment with a share of 18.4%, followed by government & education at 16.5% and industry at 16.2%. The state sector (government institutions, education, health care) is particularly strong in Italy and the Nordic countries and accounts for a total of €29 Billion in the countries we surveyed. The top ten companies retain a market share of 14.1%, which shows that there are many local suppliers in the game and that consolidation is imminent.

The British market for facility management is expected to grow 3.1% this year, with market volume reaching EUR 130.8 billion by year’s end. The trend towards outsourcing has largely been responsible for fueling the growth. According to a new study by Interconnection Consulting, external facility management is currently growing by 4.0% in Great Britain, while internal services are declining.

Infrastructure Services On Top

External facility management had a total market share of 78.5% in 2017, a number that is expected to increase. By 2021, Interconnection is anticipating a share of 80.7% for outsourced services in the facility management sector. Infrastructure services represents the largest product group, with a share of 52.2%, followed by technical services and commercial services with 12.3%. Within infrastructure services, cleaning is by far the largest segment, with a share of 35%, followed by security services (27.8%) and catering (18.6%).

Low Market Concentration

Compared to other branches, the market concentration is still relatively low. The top ten companies have a share of 14.5%. The most important providers of facility management services in the British market are Mitie, Interserve, Sodexo, Engie, Servest, Compass Group, Serco, and G4S.

The market for facility management in Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary) is currently benefiting from solid economic trends. In fact, the overall market for external facility management is set to increase 6.6% in 2018 over the previous year. According to a study by Interconnection Consulting, annual growth in this sector to 2021 is expected to be 6.8%.

In 2017, external services in facility management in the four countries studied garnered one-third of the market. This share is expected to continue to rise sharply in the upcoming years. Compared to the annual growth rate of 6.8% in external facility management, internal facility management will grow at only a rate of 1.2%. “It’s the recent investments by the automotive industry, such as BMW in Hungary and Jaguar in Slovakia, and also the commitment by international companies in other sectors that have been promoting the development of professional facility management,” explains Jan Hudak, author of the study.

Technical Services on the Fast Track

Infrastructure services represents the largest product group, garnering the lion’s share of the market (49.6%). Within infrastructure services, cleaning is the largest service, with a share of 35.5%, following by security (32.7%). The security sector is currently undergoing a tremendous technological shift on account of new monitoring methods that use technology instead of personnel. The second-largest product group is technical services, with a share of 37.6%, followed by commercial services with 12.9%. These two sectors will also be experiencing strong growth in the future since professional management will be required to accommodate the boom in construction.

Trade the #1 Customer Group

The leading customer group is trade, with a share of 29.5%, followed by industry (28.1%). Trade is actually expected to further increase its share in the upcoming years, whereas industry will be facing a slight decline. Strong growth is also forecast for sports & entertainment and hotels. “The government is also becoming a more vital customer as it attempts to professionalize and economize its services through outsourcing,” Hudak explains.

Fragmented Market

The market for facility management in the four countries analyzed is extremely fragmented. Over 40,000 companies are in the facility management business, which explains the very low level of market concentration. The top ten companies have a mere 7.8% share of the market. The leading companies are ISS, Impel, Atalian, Securitas, G4s, Sodexo, Compass Group, Mitie, Elior, Servest, Bilfinger, and Strabag.

Die gute Entwicklung in der österreichischen Facility Services Landschaft verfestigt sich weiterhin aufgrund der guten Wirtschaftsentwicklung. 2017 konnten landesweit 4,1% Umsatzwachstum in den Servicetypen Gebäudereinigung, Sicherheit, technische Services und Catering erzielt werden. Vor allem das Bundesland Tirol stieg zum Wachstumskaiser empor, wie die neue Regionalstudie, Win!Local-Facility Services in Österreich von Interconnection Consulting zeigt.

Die Regionalstudie Win!Local will den Entscheidern im Facility-Service fundierte Antworten auf die Fragen geben: Wo setze ich meine Ressourcen am besten ein? Auf welche Regionen soll ich meinen Fokus legen? Welche Kundensegmente bieten das größte Potential? Dafür hat Interconnection Consulting nun alle neun Bundesländer bis hinunter zur Bezirksebene genau unter die Lupe genommen.

Wien ist Kernmarkt für Facility Services

Tirol hat mit einem Plus von 5,0% am gesamten Facility-Markt die Nase vorn, was das Wachstum betrifft. Dahinter folgen Wien, Vorarlberg und Niederösterreich mit jeweils einem Wachstum von 4,7%. Insgesamt hat die Bundeshauptstadt mit einem Anteil von rund einem Drittel am Gesamtmarkt eine dominante Rolle am österreichischen Facility-Service-Markt inne. Mit etwa 1,4 Mrd. Euro Umsatz ist Wien als Markt für Facility Services, die klare Nummer Eins vor Oberösterreich mit 935 Mio. Euro. „In puncto Sicherheit, Infrastruktur und Leistbarkeit überzeugt die Bundeshauptstadt, so dass viele internationale Investoren dem Wiener Immobilienmarkt vertrauen“, erklärt Viorica-Maria Jeler, Autorin der Studie. Den größten Anstieg in Wien erwartet Interconnection im Sicherheitssegment mit 5,7%, gefolgt vom Reinigungssegment mit 5,1%.

Bundeshauptstädte profitieren von Neubautätigkeit

Zusätzlich erfreuen sich insbesondere die Bundeslandeshauptstädte vom neuen Schwung in der Neubautätigkeit von Nichtwohngebäuden. Das wirkt sich auch auf die verschiedenen Segmente des Facility Services aus. Im Reinigungssegment legte Innsbruck im vergangenen Jahr um 6,6% zu, Sankt Pölten gar um 7,9%. Im Bereich der Sicherheit ist Sankt Pölten mit einem Plus von 30,7% sogar an zweiter Stelle aller Bezirke österreichweit, nur geschlagen von Tamsweg (+43,7%). Auch Graz ist in diesem Bereich mit einem Plus von 12,4% im Spitzenfeld zu finden. Die Landeshauptstädte Innsbruck, Graz und Sankt Pölten sind es auch, die im Bereich Technische Services ganz vorne liegen. Im Catering sind es Innsbruck (+6,6%) und die Stadt Salzburg (+5,3%), die ganz vorne mitmischen, wenn es ums Wachstum geht.

Kundensegmente wachsen stabil

Im Kundenbereich zeigt sich, dass der Bereich Krankenhäuser ein stabiles Wachstum in allen Bundesländern aufweist. Wien weist in diesem Kundensegment mit einem Plus von 4,5% den größten Anstieg auf. Bei den Bürogebäuden liegt die Steiermark mit einem Wachstum von 5,2% im vergangenen Jahr in Front vor Tirol mit 4,7%. Beide Bundesländer profitieren von der starken Neubautätigkeit in den Landeshauptstädten Graz und Innsbruck. Bei den Industrie- und Lagergebäuden gehört Tulln aber auch Klagenfurt zu den schlechtesten Performern, wie die Studie zeigt.