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“Creating long-term value is more important than the lowest entry price”
The UK FM market is one of the most mature and fiercely competitive in the world. In this interview, Adrian Connor, Managing Director at Apleona UK, explains what it takes to succeed in this market. Adrian Connor has been Managing Director of Apleona UK since 2023 with more than 25 years’ experience in the sector. To Insights, the 53-year-old talks about the unique characteristics of the UK FM market, why long-term value matters more than short-term price advantages, and how technology, decarbonisation and strong partnerships will shape Apleona UK’s success in the coming years.
What does a successful FM company in the UK market need to offer its customers?
The UK FM market is one of the most mature and competitive in the world, characterised by multiple experienced providers who dominate the market, informed customers and sophisticated commercial models. To succeed here, Apleona must go beyond baseline delivery, combining flawless, compliant operations and strong local accountability with advanced technology deployment, disciplined commercial management and a genuinely strategic, partnership‑led approach that creates long‑term value rather than short‑term wins.
How do you estimate market growth for UK over the next few years?
The UK FM market will grow steadily rather than rapidly over the next five years, reflecting its maturity and the sophistication of both clients and providers. Growth will come from value‑led areas such as compliance, asset resilience, decarbonisation and technology led and enabled services, with the most successful companies outperforming by taking share through innovation, data and trusted partnerships rather than scale alone.
How will Apleona UK take advantage of this growth?
Apleona’s strength in the UK lies in its technically led, self‑delivery model, giving clients real control over safety, compliance and performance. Combined with deploying advanced (and appropriate), AI‑enabled technology, proven net zero capability and a partnership‑led approach, it allows Apleona to outperform in a mature market by delivering outcomes and resilience rather than just services.
What services do you think are key to success in the UK market?
Beyond being easy to do business with and having great people and culture, the features that really drive success are digitally led maintenance (static and mobile), including predictive maintenance, demand led soft services, compliance and asset resilience, underpinned by strong decarbonisation and sustainability capability. When these are combined with simple technology‑enabled insight (this is a non-negotiable), this is what will allow us to compete with larger more sophisticated competitors.
How do you see the future opportunities/developments for the procurement of integrated FM services?
The future of IFM procurement in the UK is less about bundling services and more about clients buying outcomes, risk transfer and assurance. Clients are favouring modular, data‑led integration focused on compliance, asset performance and energy reduction, with providers selected on transparency, flexibility and technical capability, and their ability to deliver long‑term value rather than lowest initial price, though this will always be a factor.
How important is the decarbonisation of existing buildings in the UK? What best practice projects can Apleona point to?
Decarbonising existing buildings is critical in the UK because recent studies have demonstrated that most of the 2050 building stock already exists, and operational efficiency is the fastest and most cost‑effective route to carbon reduction. Apleona in the UK can point to live examples such as Green Park in Reading and ZF Solihull, where data‑led optimisation and targeted engineering upgrades delivered significant energy and CO₂ savings without major disruption, showing how FM can act as a practical net‑zero delivery engine.
What is your vision for Apleona UK in the year 2030?
By 2030, I see Apleona UK being a highly skilled, technically led FM partner. We’ll be known for safety, compliance, energy performance and delivery certainty rather than scale alone. We continue to be a people business and one of the UK’s most trusted self‑delivery, data‑driven businesses, helping customers run safer, more efficient and lower‑carbon buildings. We’ll deliver in complex, regulated environments by consistently delivering outcomes, not just services.
