Italy Facility Management Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Italy facility management market is expected to register a CAGR of 1.87% during the forecast period (2022 - 2027). The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a mixed business impact on facilities management firms in the country. The restrictions on the movement of people resulted in a decline in project work and a decreased level of activity across many customer sites. Significant players in the market, such as Atlas FM Group, CBRE Group, and others, were adversely affected due to the pandemic lockdown. Further, the facility manager's role is growing more notable and even changing from operational to strategic. This COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for the facility manager to consolidate the new office environment and the demands of employees in terms of working from home in the corporate culture. Though, more compliance is anticipated, also concerning suppliers. The focus will be more on quality and results and smaller on a fixed schedule.

Key Highlights

• Italy was the first country in Europe to be hit by the pandemic. The health sector has undergone radical cost-cutting. While on the one hand, it helped to reduce waste, on the other, it significantly reduced the number of beds and the availability of certain services. Currently, 1,050 hospitals are operating in Italy, comprising 210,000 beds.​
• However, according to the Quarto Osservatorio sulla Sostenibilità e sulla Sicurezza (Fourth Survey on Sustainability and Safety, carried out by Scenari Immobiliari in partnership with Johnson Controls), 85,000 beds are in facilities that should be demolished, and 52,000 are in hospitals in need of functional and system design renovations. In turn, this would attract more service providers to capitalize in the healthcare facility management sector.​
• In May 2021, AGC Biologics, a global biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), unveiled plans to expand their Cell and Gene Therapy Center of Excellence in Milan, Italy, to increase capacities to implement viral vector suspension capabilities. The growth of pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D site will further increase the implementation of facility management services in the industry. ​
• The endorsed amount of USD 191.5 billion by the European Union as a recovery and resilience plan for Italy will play a key role in enabling Italy to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. Such investments in the education and healthcare sector will further strengthen the position of players in the facility management sector. Further, the companies are looking for new avenues to increase their business in different end-user industries.​
• Furthermore, global players have made investments to penetrate the European FM market. For instance, in September 2021, Hines, an international real estate firm, agreed to acquire Helix, one of the leading specialist commercial property management companies in Europe, to launch its new customer-centric and experience-focused management services and operations platform across Europe, including Italy.

Key Market TrendsCommercial Industry is Expected to Hold Significant Market Share

• The commercial building sector in the country has been witnessing new investments; as a result, driving the facility management market. Several investment firms have been appointing real estate management firms to manage their investment in real estate. For instance, in December 2021, Multi Italy was appointed by Savills Investment Management SGR SpA to manage the GranRoma Shopping Center on behalf of Sulis Fund. With this new project, Multi Italy currently manages nine shopping center assets in Italy's large cities and metropolitan areas, including Valecenter in Marcon (Venice) and Forum Palermo shopping centers.
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) elements and sustainability have been consolidated in the market and perceived as necessary, reducing future risk. It is evident from the recent market transactions. For instance, in September 2021, Acea announced that it signed an agreement with REM SpA to purchase a 65% stake in Deco SpA, a leading provider of environmental services in Italy's Abruzzo region. Deco SpA operates in the waste management sector in Abruzzo, which undertakes to design, build, and operate facilities used in the treatment, disposal, and recovery of solid urban waste and the recovery of energy from renewable sources.
• Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data represent the new technological frontiers for effectively managing production, processes, and design of facility management services for building management. Companies are using advanced technologies in providing facility management solutions in the market.
• For instance, in June 2021, as part of its sustainability goals, Intesa Sanpaolo Group, the country's leading banking group, undertook a project to improve its real estate operations and facility management and cut waste. Intesa Sanpaolo DCIL (the company's real estate and facility management team) partnered with Microsoft and Microsoft Partner Network member ICONICS to utilize data to proactively identify faults, improve comfort, and reduce energy use in the buildings to reduce the company's environmental footprint substantially. This project involved providing real-time visibility into HVAC and other systems in the company's facilities to make it possible to take data-driven actions.
• Further, according to the ANCE, investments in the construction sector grew in Italy. However, for the year 2020, a decrease of 9.5% was predicted. Nevertheless, investments in the construction sector in Italy were expected to bounce back in 2021, with an increase of 8.3 percent. This investment rise in the construction sector drives the commercial segment for the facility management services.

In-House Accounts For the Largest Market Share

• Facility management comprises a broad range of services, including real estate, human resource management, financial management, change management, health & safety, contract management, and more, in addition to domestic services, building management, and utility supplies. These extensive facility management operations can be provided or performed either by in-house or outsourcing approaches which determine the priority of the services or activities of an organization. Most organizations rely entirely on cost factors when choosing between in-house or outsourcing options. Other factors could prove in-house options to be effective in the long run.
• Large organizations generally undertake in-house facility management, citing their wide range of operations and size. It also benefits them in terms of cost savings and improving efficiency. Several international organizations in Italy also operate their in-house facility management.
• For instance, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) operates in-house facility management in Italy. The Infrastructure and Facilities Management Service (CSLI) of FAO is responsible for maintaining the entire headquarters premises of Rome and providing services to staff. CSLI helps Decentralized Offices in maintenance activities for spaces of the organization and those related to FAO technical projects. CSLI also coordinates specific infrastructure projects of the Government of Italy, which involves upgrading headquarters buildings and structures.
• Companies strive to cut costs by implementing an in-house facility management approach that also helps them reduce expenditure on other processes and material usage, including spending on gas and electricity within the workplace. However, some expense items are unavoidable, but implementing some simple maintenance techniques can make a difference in the volumes of energy consumed, therefore, in costs. Through simple changes to HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system, the cost of heating and cooling can be cut substantially.
• Further, according to Istat, the monthly index of food products retail trade sales value in Italy amounted to 106.9 in June 2021, two points over the previous month, May 2021, and two below the data from April 2021. As of the survey period, the monthly index of the food products retail trade sales value fluctuated over time, being assessed at 94.7 index points as of February 2021. The rising monthly food products retail trade sales index drives the studied segment and the market.

Competitive Landscape

The Italy facility management market is moderately concentrated, owing to the presence of many large and small players in the market operating in the domestic and international markets. Some of the significant players, including CBRE Group, Atlas FM Group, Kier Group PLC, Sodexo Facilities Management Services, Compass Group, and Euro & Promos Facility Management SpA, adopt vital strategies, such as innovation strategic partnerships and mergers, and acquisitions. Some of the key developments in the market are:

• September 2021 - Acea announced that it signed an agreement with REM SpA to purchase a 65% stake in Deco SpA, a leading environmental services provider in Italy's Abruzzo region. Deco SpA operates in the waste management sector in Abruzzo, which undertakes to design, build, and operate facilities used in the treatment, disposal, and recovery of solid urban waste and the recovery of energy from renewable sources.
• August 2021 - CTS EVENTIM, a significant ticketing and live entertainment provider, announced to expand its portfolio of international venues with the planning and construction of the MSG Arena in Milan. Touted as Italy's largest multipurpose arena, MSG Arena would be able to host up to 16,000 people after its completion in autumn 2025, which would also have an outdoor area of over 10,000 sqm for open-air events.

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