CPIH inflation is running ~4.1% (Sep 2025), and short-term inflation expectations ticked up again in October, keeping wage and contract pressure alive.
The statutory National Living Wage rose to £12.21 on 1 April 2025; many clients and contractors are also contending with the higher real Living Wage (currently £13.45 UK-wide / £14.80 London). Budgeting and indexation clauses matter.
UK office occupancy has climbed to the post-pandemic high (37–38% average, peaking mid-week). FM must flex services to variable daily demand while holding quality.
The Building Safety Regulator’s regime for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) demands robust safety case reports, “golden thread” information and competence; scrutiny continued to tighten through 2025.
Particularly across education and parts of healthcare estates, significant workbanks running into 2029.
Violence and theft reached record levels; a new offence protecting retail workers is progressing through Parliament, upping duty-of-care expectations on FM providers and clients.
Public Sector Decarbonisation (Phase 4) funding runs 2025/26–2027/28; guidance emphasises heat decarbonisation and efficiency—FM is the delivery arm.
IWFM’s 2025 Market Outlook reported growth, rising budgets and space under management opportunity exists for operators who can deliver consistency and change.
Bake conflict management, lone-working and de-escalation training into mobilisation and annual refreshers for retail/transport/public-facing estates; record it in the golden thread for HRBs. Align with HSE violence guidance.
Refresh risk assessments to reflect current crime patterns and occupancy variability; escalate to clients where guarding/CCTV/body-worn video is now proportionate (many retailers have already increased spend).
For 2026 tenders/renewals, use dual indexation (e.g., labour pegged to NLW/Real LW where mandated; non-labour to CPIH with caps/floors). Reference April 2025 wage uplift in change-control narratives.
Move cleaning/M&E to dynamic scheduling (Tues to Thurs peaks, Fri trough), and redesign SLAs to outcome KPIs tied to utilisation rather than fixed inputs. Use access-control/IoT data to evidence resourcing.
Confirm you have: a living safety case report, accountable person role clarity, resident engagement and mandatory occurrence reporting processes; make sure the golden thread CDE is defined with document master lists.
Line up PSDS ready projects (fabric first, electrification, controls) and reference current heat network and public-sector decarb guidance to de-risk business cases.
With engineering shortages biting, prioritise apprenticeships, multiskilling and OEM-agnostic competence frameworks; evidence from wider engineering shows persistent recruitment difficulty even as vacancies cool elsewhere.
Couple EAPs and mental-health first aiders with work design fixes: realistic staffing for peak days, rota stability and travel-time fairness. That’s what retains people under tougher conditions and keeps clients out of the headlines. (Context from retail violence trend and flexible-working rules and ongoing potential terrorism or violent incidents such as the recent knife attack at the weekend)
• 2026 budgets reflect NLW/real LW gaps and CPIH trend.
• Occupancy-led service design signed off with clients (clear mid-week peaks resourcing).
• BSR compliance map: HRB register, safety case status, golden thread CDE owner.
• RAAC exposure and project pipeline known (esp. education/health portfolios).
• Retail/public-facing sites: updated violence & aggression risk assessments; incident reporting and police liaison protocols.
• PSDS bid plan ready for 2025/26–2027/28 window; standard M&V and lifecycle models prepared.
