Facilities Management Forecast Shows Maintenance Costs Will Rise by Nearly 6% in 2023

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11 April 2023

The Building Cost Information Service has published its five-year facilities management forecast, which shows maintenance costs are expected to rise by 5.7 per cent in 2023.

 

“FM managers must develop whole-life plans to demonstrate the long-term costs of short-term cuts to protect their budgets and the built environment. The cost and availability of labour are anticipated to be a major barrier to the delivery of maintenance services.”  

–Joe Martin

Lead Consultant, BCIS

 

 

Joe Martin, Lead Consultant at The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) reveals his predictions:

 

FM Maintenance Costs

 

Joe said “Maintenance costs are expected to rise 5.7 per cent, in the year to the fourth quarter of 2023 and between 2.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent annually for the next four years. Overall, they’re expected to rise 17.6 per cent in total, in the forecast period to the fourth quarter of 2027. 

He also predicts that cleaning costs are forecast to rise even faster due to pressures on labour costs, up to 25.6 per cent over the forecast period. The sector employs 1.47 million people, and the workforce has suffered since Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. Labour Force Survey figures from 2020, before the immigration rules changed, showed that 20 per cent of the cleaning and hygiene industry workforce nationwide were from overseas, rising to 55 per cent in London.

 

Energy Prices

 

Joe continued: “Energy prices are extremely volatile but are expected to fall over the forecast period. They may continue to rise in the short term as previous increases work their way through to consumers. But they are set to go down for the rest of the forecast period, as the markets stabilise.” 

However, companies that fixed their energy contracts during the peak of high energy costs in 2022, combined with reduced support through the Energy Bill Discount Scheme, may find themselves facing bill increases. 

 

Picture: a photograph of Joe Martin, Lead Consultant at BCIS. Image Credit: BCIS

 

Maintenance Demand

 

Joe said: “Maintenance demand, as measured by Construction Repairs and Maintenance annual output, is forecast to increase by around 6 per cent over the forecast period. After falling over 3 per cent between 2022 and 2023 it is expected to recover slowly over the next four years.”

 

Restricted Budgets and High Demand  

 

Joe concluded: “The FM market will be subject to competing pressures of restricted budgets and growing needs over the next few years. Buildings in both the public and private sectors need substantial investment.

“Backlog maintenance, particularly in the public sector, needs addressing and improving the environmental performance of all buildings is essential if we are to meet our climate change commitments. 

“FM managers must develop whole-life plans to demonstrate the long-term costs of short-term cuts to protect their budgets and the built environment. The cost and availability of labour are anticipated to be a major barrier to the delivery of maintenance services.”  

Picture: a photograph of a calculator. Image Credit: Pexels

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 11 April 2023

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