Property maintenance specialist DMA Group has been appointed by Thurrock Council to deliver Hard Facilities Management services across its corporate estate. The contract was secured through the Fusion21 Workplace & Facilities Management Framework (Lot 4 – Building Engineering Services). Greater Essex based unitary authority Thurrock Council manages a diverse portfolio of civic buildings and community facilities that support frontline services across the borough. As the Council progresses its recovery and transformation agenda, ensuring a resilient, compliant and efficient property estate is central to delivering reliable public services and supporting sustainable place-making. Under the three-year contract, with options to extend, DMA will provide a fully integrated Hard FM solution including reactive repairs, planned preventative maintenance, statutory compliance testing, asset installation and minor project works. The service model is designed to provide single-source accountability, transparent governance and measurable performance improvement. Central to delivery will be DMA’s award-winning BiO® service management platform, which provides real-time visibility of asset condition, compliance status and KPI performance. The platform enables automated scheduling, digital certification, live dashboards and full audit trails, supporting data-led decision-making and improved cost control. The contract incorporates clear sustainability and social value commitments. DMA will prioritise local supply chain engagement and employment opportunities within Thurrock, alongside apprenticeship pathways to support skills development in engineering and building services. In parallel, its energy and sustainability specialists will work with the Council to identify practical, cost-effective carbon reduction initiatives aligned with net zero ambitions. Steve McGregor, Executive Chairman of DMA Group, said: “We are proud to have been appointed by Thurrock Council through the Fusion21 framework. This partnership is about delivering visible improvement, strengthening compliance and providing long-term value. “By combining experienced engineers with our BiO® digital platform, we will deliver a transparent, accountable and future-ready Hard FM service that supports the Council’s operational resilience and sustainability objectives.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Arcus Facilities Management has strengthened its long-standing relationship with Santander UK after securing a significant five-year integrated facilities management contract covering the bank’s nationwide property portfolio. The appointment follows a competitive review process undertaken by Santander, which sought to streamline its supply chain by appointing a single facilities management provider capable of delivering a comprehensive range of services across its diverse estate. The new agreement marks an expansion of Arcus FM’s existing role with the bank, evolving from the provision of retail engineering services to a fully integrated facilities management partnership. Under the contract, Arcus FM will support Santander’s entire UK property portfolio, which includes its major corporate offices in Milton Keynes and London, regional workplaces, around 350 retail branches and two data centres housing critical infrastructure. The scope of services will encompass engineering and technical maintenance, cleaning, front-of-house support and energy management services, alongside a number of back-office operational functions. Larger and strategically important sites will benefit from dedicated on-site engineering teams, while Arcus’s mobile engineering network will provide support across the wider branch estate. Service delivery will also be backed by a 24-hour UK-based helpdesk. In addition to day-to-day facilities management responsibilities, the agreement further strengthens the relationship between Santander and Arcus Projects, the specialist division responsible for supporting investment, refurbishment and development activities across the bank’s property portfolio. The contract represents a notable achievement within a market where large-scale, fully integrated facilities management agreements have become increasingly uncommon. Theresa Bell, Chief Commercial Officer at Arcus FM, said the award reflected the company’s continued investment in developing its capabilities across corporate and mission-critical environments. She added that the contract demonstrated Santander’s confidence in Arcus’s ability to deliver high-quality services consistently across a complex and geographically diverse estate. Lee Barrow, Head of Property Operations at Santander UK, highlighted the strong working relationship developed between the two organisations in recent years. He said Arcus had demonstrated technical expertise, a collaborative approach and the operational scale required to support the bank’s wider estate requirements. The appointment further reinforces Arcus FM’s growing presence within the integrated facilities management sector, particularly across complex, multi-site environments where resilience, technical capability and service consistency remain critical priorities. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

New platform to support repair services across more than 40,000 homes Housing Maintenance Solutions (HMS), Torus Group’s in-house building and maintenance contractor, has partnered with Totalmobile to enhance housing repair services in the North West. Supporting around 83,000 tenants across more than 40,000 homes, HMS will adopt Totalmobile’s award-winning Field First platform to streamline job tracking and provide real-time updates for its operational teams. Through the partnership, HMS will bring job management, mobile working and real-time operational insight into a single system, giving teams clearer visibility of work in progress, supporting more efficient scheduling and helping ensure repairs are completed more quickly and consistently for residents. David Webb, Managing Director for Housing at Totalmobile, said: “Across the sector, expectations around repairs and maintenance have shifted. Housing providers and their maintenance partners need to be able to see what’s happening in real time, respond quickly and maintain control over increasingly complex operations. Partnerships like this are about putting those foundations in place, so services can be delivered consistently and residents know what to expect.” John Barrow, Managing Director at HMS, said: “By partnering with Totalmobile, we’re building a strong foundation for the future of our repairs and maintenance service. With the Field First platform, we will have full operational visibility, which will help us respond more effectively and keep customers informed as issues are resolved quickly.” As housing providers continue to scale operations and respond to rising expectations, there is an increasing focus on improving efficiency, visibility and service consistency across maintenance delivery. For Totalmobile, the partnership reflects continued growth in supporting housing maintenance organisations responsible for large-scale property operations. For more information about Totalmobile, visit the Field Service Management Hub Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Despite some improvements from last year, 38% still do not update their asset registers or do not know how often they are updated According to a recent survey, 38% of facility maintenance professionals do not update their asset registers or do not know how frequently they are updated. Although the number of FM professionals with 100% accurate registers (15%) has seen a 6% uptick from last year, nearly 1 in 10 organisations do not have any asset register at all.  As part of their State of Facilities Management 2026 Report, SFG20, the industry standard for building maintenance, surveyed nearly 200 professionals from various roles in the built environment sector to assess challenges and priorities regarding facility management. The survey reveals that while the industry faces high cost and compliance pressures, asset management and maintenance were identified as the leading three-year investment priority, with 72% of respondents selecting it.  The FM industry’s biggest obstacles to effective asset management  The report reveals that 50% of respondents still store at least part of their asset register in spreadsheet format, with only 58% using dedicated software solutions such as CAFM. 4% of FM organisations even use paper-based records to manage their asset register.  Organisations using software solutions reported higher asset register accuracy – around 70% on average, compared with around 60% for those relying on spreadsheets or paper.  Davy Clark says:  “The continued reliance on spreadsheets— often alongside systems—highlights fragmentation in how asset information is managed. Spreadsheets can be effective for smaller estates, but they introduce well-known challenges around version control, governance, and consistent updates across teams and suppliers. Respondents using software solutions report materially higher accuracy, indicating that systematisation and control can support better data quality when implemented well.” The 2026 survey spotlighted that the number of FM organisations that update their asset registers on a monthly basis has dropped from 22% to 13%, while yearly updates have seen a slight uptick from 28% to 32%. That said, compared to 34% in 2025, 38% of FM organisations do not update their registers or do not know how often they are reviewed and refreshed.  This mixed picture suggests that while reported accuracy may be improving for some organisations, the regularity and knowledge of asset register updates may be declining.  Davy Clark, Senior Implementation Consultant at SFG20, says:  “One of the most common issues we encounter in asset register projects is the lack of consistency and specificity in asset descriptions. Too often, assets are recorded with vague descriptions like ‘boiler’ or ‘pump’, making it incredibly difficult to map them to the correct maintenance tasks. This leads to inefficiencies, increased risk, and compliance challenges. Ensuring asset data is consistently structured, complete, and digitally maintained in a single source of truth is essential — not only for effective planned maintenance but also for long-term cost savings and compliance.” Kirsty Cogan, Managing Director at SFG20, says: “FM has to become more data driven. The days of reactive maintenance and intuition-based decision-making are numbered. Facilities Managers need access to real-time asset data, not only to meet compliance demands but also to optimise maintenance strategies, improve efficiency, and unlock cost savings. Yet, many organisations still lack the digital infrastructure to make this a reality.  The past year has shown that while there is an undeniable commitment to raising standards across the industry, the road to compliance, cost efficiency, and sustainability remains a tough one to navigate. Conversations with FM professionals across different sectors highlight the same recurring theme: progress is being made, but not at the speed or scale needed to meet the growing challenges ahead.”  The full report alongside SFG20’s complete list of recommendations for each covered challenge can be found here: https://www.sfg20.co.uk/e-guide/state-of-fm-2026 Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Leading North West property services company The Momentum Group has strengthened its portfolio with two new appointments across its property management company, Momentum Manage, further demonstrating the business’s expansion across brand new property sectors. The two new appointments include Graylaw Industrial Estate, which is Momentum Manage’sfirst appointment in the industrial sector. The estate is owned by Riverlow Group, a real estate investment and development company headquartered in London.   Momentum Manage’s second appointment is on 12 Temple Street in Liverpool, securing a five-year property management agreement for the city-centre office building. The building isoccupied by architectural practice Falconer Chester Hall and owned by Waterville Investments. The instruction strengthens the firm’s presence within Liverpool’s commercial office market. Jacqui Saunders, Property Management Director at Momentum Manage, said: “Being appointed to manage Graylaw Industrial Estate, our first instruction in the industrial sector, marks a major milestone in our growth. When I first joined the company, I highlighted the opportunity to expand our client base across the North West, and these appointments not only achieve that but also represent our first step into a new industrial sector for Graylaw. We are really strengthening our Manage portfolio across the UK, with the new office contract bolstering this too.”  Paul Falconer, Director at Waterville Investments Limited, added: “Choosing TheMomentum Group was a straightforward decision. A company that is based in Liverpool and has a reputation for the excellent work they do in the property management space, it was undoubtedly the right decision for us to take. We look forward to working with them on this excellent building in the centre of Liverpool.” These latest appointments for Momentum Manage follow further positive momentum across the wider business, with Momentum Build recently appointed by Freedom Leisure and Guildford Borough Council to deliver works for Puttify at the Guildford Spectrum leisure complex. This also follows its role in refurbishing Xplore! Science Discovery Centre, an educational facility in North Wales owned by Wrexham University. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals