Multi-disciplinary firms moving in on property management

The list of multi-disciplinary consultants bringing in property management skills to complement an existing focus on FM continues to grow.

Last spring, WS Atkins acquired property specialist Lambert Smith Hampton. Even before its purchase of Care Services just a few weeks ago, Eurica, the FM subsidiary of Interior Services Group, had spent much of the year on a buying spree, taking in property managers Waters & Co and surveyors Walker Son & Packman.

Now WSP Group, which provides a range of property services including FM, has re-affirmed its one-stop shop strategy with the publication of strong interim results. It has also said it wants to broaden its offer on the management side.

The relationship between facilities management and property management, at least in the way the latter has been traditionally approached, tends to be an uneasy one. Bringing the disciplines together may be good for business, but it may also be good for clients.

Trigon recently claimed to breaking the mould when it announced the appointed by Daiwa to lead a combined team looking after a multi-tenanted building in the City of London.

Richard Buckley, Trigon MD, said: "The innovative decision to establish an alliance between property and facilities management will ensure that a greater range of benefits is delivered to both Daiwa as the landlord and the building's tenants."