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Introduction
The UK facilities management (FM) industry stands at a pivotal moment. While the market has grown and evolved, the sector’s increasing complexity has created a widening gap between what some large providers deliver and what many clients truly need. This article explores the FM landscape from the perspective of a challenger organisation – Q3, founded by leaders who have experienced both the scale of major FM corporations and the agility of a new entrant.
In my presentation at Workplace Futures, and in this piece, I draw on real-life examples to demonstrate how smaller, highly responsive FM providers can deliver value through personalised service models, empowered people, modern flexible technology, and a renewed focus on fundamentals that the industry too often overlooks.
I will share some insights gained from building an FM organisation from scratch, seeing the industry from the “other end of the telescope,” and understanding the gaps between large‑scale FM delivery and the needs of modern clients.
The history
After thirty years in FM, working for some of the biggest organisations in the industry, I took the opportunity in 2018 to start something entirely new: a challenger brand based in the Thames Valley with a clear vision of doing things differently. What followed was a rapid, unexpected journey that revealed a great deal about how the FM sector functions and where it needs to change.
Starting from Zero: A New Perspective
Launching a new FM enterprise immediately exposed the realities faced by SMEs:
- We had no credit history. Even simple things like sourcing a phone contract became a challenge
- Long‑term suppliers from previous relationship suddenly became disinterested
- Former clients were reluctant to engage now that the logos and scale had disappeared
- Previous corporate status offered no leverage in a small‑business environment
The instant loss of “big-company kudos” demonstrated how deeply the industry (wrongly) equates size with capability. However, for the new management team, it reinforced the value of agility, flexibility, and quality over scale – principles that shaped Q3 from the outset.
The Q3 Strategy
Our growth strategy focused on three pillars:
- Employing Quality People
- Delivering Quality Services
- Working with Quality Clients to create Quality Workplaces
This simple philosophy is the origin of the Q3 name and remains central to our approach today.
FM Today: A Market of Complexity and Contradictions
The FM market is vast, diverse, and increasingly dominated by large organisations. Ironically, outsourcing which was originally created to simplify operations and improve cost‑effectiveness, has evolved into a system burdened by its own complexity.
Large providers have created what might be termed “oil tanker syndrome”:
- Slow to turn
- Heavy internal governance
- Standardised models driven by corporate needs rather than client needs
- Inherent inflexibility
- Increasingly distant from front‑line reality
As the big become bigger through mergers and acquisitions, SMEs must differentiate rather than imitate.
Competing as a Challenger FM Provider
Realistically, SMEs cannot, and should not, attempt to win the Barclays of this world. Likewise, major FM organisations rarely need to pursue small £3m‑scale contracts. The market segmentation is clear – know your client sweet-spot and stick to it.
Successful challenger providers focus on:
Selective Targeting
Choosing clients whose needs align with SME strengths:
- Agility
- Customisation
- High‑touch service
- Direct senior involvement
Value‑Based Differentiation
Competing on value, not volume. For SMEs, this means building contracts around the client rather than offering off‑the‑shelf solutions. A notable example is our partnership with Catapult where the client’s, post-tender feedback was, “You didn’t tell me how I should fit into your box; you showed how you would fit into ours.”
This approach strengthens relationships, builds trust, and creates long‑term retention.
Senior Leadership Visibility
Unlike larger organisations, we maintain direct board‑level engagement throughout the life of every contract. Senior leaders regularly visit sites, meet clients, and speak with frontline colleagues. Clients know they can call us directly and get a solution immediately.
And because we don’t have layers of off-the-bench resources waiting in the background, every new contract demands that we hire the right person specifically for that client. Decisions are always guided by what will serve the client best.
The Supply Chain and the SME Challenge
Many small FM providers rely heavily on subcontracting models, working for the larger Property & FM companies. While common, this introduces challenges:
- Managing agents become the “client,” limiting direct relationships
- Risk increases
- Innovation is stifled
- Intellectual property can be lost
- Providers have no access to client decision‑makers
- SMEs can be disproportionately affected by failures in the chain, as seen with the Carillion collapse
Q3 deliberately avoids dependence on subcontracting for core delivery. When we work with partners, they are locally selected, locally coordinated, and part of a cohesive value‑creating model, not an outsourced commodity layer.
People First: The Core of FM
Yes, it’s a cliché, but FM is, and always has been, a people industry. While technology and data are evolving rapidly, frontline expertise remains the most powerful driver of service quality.
We champion a genuine, people-first approach:
- Recognising talent within the business and supporting career growth
- Bringing in high‑skilled individuals from outside FM to enrich our capability
- Listening closely to frontline colleagues whose insights often reveal the most valuable improvements
One of the most impactful examples is hiring a young data analyst with no prior FM experience to administer and develop our CAFM platform, Facilio. We received over two hundred applications for the role, and he was one of a handful with no FM sector experience. But we hired him because his analytical skills transformed the contract’s performance, demonstrating how cross‑industry talent can elevate FM delivery.
Once people are in the FM sector and understand it, we are great at developing careers in different directions within our organisation. In our senior leadership we have a Finance director who used to be a personal assistant and an HR director who used to head up bid management.
In an interesting example of reciprocal trading, we also partner with employability programmes such as the Restart Scheme through our client Maximus to bring new talent and opportunity into the sector.
Technology: Pragmatic, Not Flashy, or Tech for Tech’s sake
FM organisations frequently promote technology as a game‑changer. Everyone has worked themselves into a frenzy over the possibilities of AI. But too often, the rhetoric exceeds the reality.
Q3 takes a pragmatic, value‑focused approach:
- We invest in modern, flexible CAFM platforms rather than expensive legacy systems
- Our systems adapt to each client instead of forcing clients to fit a preset model
- Data belongs to the client — we are custodians, not owners. At the end of the contract, they keep it
- Integration with client systems is simple and seamless
Technology is only valuable when it directly enhances service quality, responsiveness, and decision‑making and that’s our philosophy before we scope out any tech solution on a contract.
The Industry Challenge: Profile and Perception
FM continues to struggle with visibility and recognition. This limits its influence at board level, reduces its perceived value, and hinders its ability to attract talent.
Part of the issue is that the industry undersells its fundamentals – the essential services that keep organisations functioning. There is too much focus on buzzwords, technology and new shiny things at the expense of any pride in core delivery.
To move forward, the industry needs a stronger, more unified voice. We must advocate for the value FM brings to UK plc and celebrate the successes that often go unrecognised.
Conclusion
Viewing FM from both ends of the telescope – the scale of major corporations and the agility of SMEs, provides powerful insights into how the industry must evolve.
Challenger organisations like Q3 will succeed by:
- Staying flexible
- Designing services around the client
- Empowering people
- Using technology with purpose
- Retaining senior visibility
- Being bold enough to do things differently
There is ample space in the market for disruptors with a different language and mindset. The future of FM belongs not only to the large and complex, but to the agile, the human‑centred, and the value‑driven.
