Client Overview
Liberty London is one of the UK’s most iconic retail destinations, renowned for its luxury goods, distinctive brand heritage and landmark Tudor Revival building in the heart of London’s West End.
Founded in 1875, Liberty has built a global reputation for curating exceptional fashion, beauty, homeware and lifestyle brands. As both a retail destination and a historic architectural asset, the building requires specialist facilities management expertise to ensure its infrastructure remains safe, compliant and operationally resilient while supporting an exceptional customer experience.
To support the ongoing performance of its estate, Liberty London required an experienced Hard Services Facilities Manager capable of overseeing critical building services, engineering operations and maintenance programmes across its complex and highly visible retail environment.
The Challenge
Liberty London required a technically strong facilities professional to lead the management of hard services across a historic and operationally demanding estate.
The successful candidate would be responsible for maintaining the reliability, safety and compliance of critical building infrastructure while supporting the commercial objectives of a busy flagship retail environment.
The role encompassed responsibility for:
• Mechanical and electrical infrastructure
• Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) programmes
• Building management and engineering services
• HVAC systems
• Fire detection and suppression systems
• Electrical distribution and lighting systems
• Plumbing and water services
• Specialist heritage building assets
• Contractor and supplier management
• Health, safety and statutory compliance
• Budget management and cost control
The position required an individual capable of balancing operational delivery with strategic asset management while ensuring minimal disruption to customers, retail operations and building occupants.
Strong leadership capability was also essential, with responsibility for managing an in-house engineering team and coordinating multiple specialist service providers.
Our Approach
Understanding the Requirement
Maxwell Stephens worked closely with Liberty London’s leadership team to gain a detailed understanding of the technical, operational and commercial requirements of the role.
The organisation required a Hard Services Facilities Manager who could combine strong engineering expertise with leadership capability, stakeholder management skills and a commitment to maintaining the highest operational standards.
Specialist Search Process
Drawing upon our extensive Facilities Management and Building Services network, we conducted a targeted search focused on candidates with backgrounds in:
• Hard Facilities Management
• Building Services Engineering
• Retail Facilities Management
• Heritage and Listed Buildings
• Mechanical and Electrical Services
• Critical Building Infrastructure
• Contractor Management
• Health, Safety and Compliance
• Asset Management and Lifecycle Planning
Particular emphasis was placed on identifying candidates with strong electrical expertise, leadership experience and a proven track record of managing complex operational estates.
Candidate Assessment
Candidates were assessed against a comprehensive range of technical and behavioural competencies, including:
• Mechanical and electrical systems management
• Planned and reactive maintenance delivery
• Team leadership and performance management
• Contractor and supplier oversight
• Health, safety and statutory compliance
• Budget management and procurement
• Technical problem-solving and operational resilience
• Stakeholder engagement and customer service
Our assessment process ensured that shortlisted candidates possessed the technical depth and commercial awareness required to succeed within a prestigious and highly customer-focused retail environment.
The Outcome
Maxwell Stephens successfully appointed an experienced Hard Services Facilities Manager with extensive expertise in building services engineering, maintenance management and operational leadership.
The successful candidate brought a strong technical background alongside proven experience managing complex estates and engineering operations within customer-facing environments.
Key strengths included:
• Extensive hard services and building services expertise
• Strong electrical engineering knowledge
• Experience managing engineering teams and specialist contractors
• Proven track record in statutory compliance and risk management
• Effective budgetary control and procurement management
• Strong stakeholder communication and leadership capability
Following their appointment, the Hard Services Facilities Manager assumed responsibility for the operational performance of Liberty London’s critical building infrastructure, ensuring the continued reliability, safety and efficiency of the estate.
Working closely with internal teams, contractors and external stakeholders, they played a key role in maintaining operational excellence while supporting the ongoing evolution of one of Britain’s most iconic retail environments.
Results Delivered
The appointment delivered significant operational benefits across Liberty London’s estate, including:
• Enhanced oversight of critical mechanical and electrical infrastructure
• Improved management of Planned Preventative Maintenance programmes
• Stronger contractor performance and service delivery standards
• Continued compliance with statutory and health and safety requirements
• Effective leadership of the engineering team and maintenance operations
• Improved visibility and control of maintenance expenditure
• Enhanced operational resilience across key building systems
• Support for the long-term preservation and performance of a landmark retail asset
The successful placement provided Liberty London with the technical leadership required to maintain the exceptional standards expected of one of the UK’s most prestigious retail destinations.
Specialist Hard Services & Technical Facilities Recruitment
Maxwell Stephens supports organisations across retail, commercial property, corporate real estate and heritage environments with specialist recruitment solutions covering technical and operational facilities management.
Our expertise includes:
• Hard Services Facilities Management
• Technical Services Management
• Building Services Engineering
• Mechanical & Electrical Management
• Engineering Leadership
• Asset & Maintenance Management
• Compliance & Risk Management
• Property & Facilities Services
By combining specialist Facilities Management recruitment expertise with a deep understanding of building services and operational infrastructure, we help organisations secure the professionals responsible for keeping critical estates safe, compliant and performing at their best.