Mechanical and Electrical Contractors Market Report – UK 2019-2023

Key issues covered in the report:

• Detailed analysis and insight – key trends and demand for M&E services.
• Key influences including analysis of construction trends and regional analysis.
• Market structure and analysis of the leading M&E contractors.
• Product development and growth areas.
• Customers and key end-use sectors.
• Forecasts of market developments up to 2023 – market size and factors impacting on the market.

Areas of particular interest include:

• Market performance review and forecasts to 2023. Features of this market include a highly competitive landscape with a large number of companies operating in the sector.
• Factors affecting the market and analysis of key market characteristics. Impact of energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives and resulting product developments.
• Review of leading contractors and market shares. A fragmented sector covering FM providers, building contractors or energy providers, for which M&E contracting forms a small part of the business.
• Review of key trends – with a focus on key end use markets. Focus of M&E contractors at a regional and national level, specific end-use sectors of the market, range of services offered and how this varies significantly between businesses.
• Impact of legislation and standards on the market.
• Detailed market data and insight on the mechanical and electrical contractors market by AMA Research, a leading UK provider of construction market intelligence.

Some of the companies included:

Atalian Servest AMK, Balfour Beatty Group, Bancroft, Boulting Limited, Briggs & Forrester Group, CBRE Managed Services, Crown House Technologies, Dodd Group Ltd, Emcor Group (UK) Plc, Engie FM Ltd, Essex Services Group, FES, Galliford Try, Gratte Brothers, Halsall Electrical, Imtech, Integral UK, Interserve, Lorne Stewart, Michael J Lonsdale, Mitie Technical Facilities Management, NG Bailey Ltd, Phoenix ME Ltd, Quartzelec, Quinn Infrastructure Services (formerly MJ Quinn Integrated Services Ltd), SES (Engineering Services), Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil, SPIE Ltd, SSE Contracting, T Clarke, UK Power Network Services (Commercial), Vinci, and more.

The Market

• Market performance review and forecasts to 2023. Features of this market include a highly competitive landscape with a large number of companies operating in the sector.
• Factors affecting the market and analysis of key market characteristics. Impact of energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives and resulting product developments.
• Review of leading contractors and market shares. A fragmented sector covering FM providers, building contractors or energy providers, for which M&E contracting forms a small part of the business.
• Review of key trends – with a focus on key end use markets. Focus of M&E contactors at a regional and national level, specific end-use sectors of the market, range of services offered and how this varies significantly between businesses.
• Impact of legislation and standards on the market.

End Use Sectors

• Construction output by value, with historical trends and forecasts.
• Construction output analysis by end use sector.
• Value of M&E market in each main sector and market mix by end-use sector.
• Key market drivers, influences and prospects.
• Important issues for M&E contractors in each main end user market.

Contractor Review

• Structure of the M&E Contracting market – number of businesses, size of businesses, types of business, geographical coverage including regional analysis.
• Leading M&E Contracting companies – market shares, M&E turnover and origins.
• M&E Contractor company profiles – turnover and profit data, characteristics, ownership, major strengths and weaknesses, key sectors and capabilities.
• Key trends – pre-fabrication, consolidation, integration and diversification.
• Profitability analysis – profit margin and historical trends.
• Mergers & acquisitions within the M&E contracting industry.

Key Market Trends and Influences

• Review of the performance of the construction industry – including regional analysis of output.
• Information about the legislation and standards affecting the market.
• Analysis of government spending.
• Outline of carbon reduction and green energy requirements.
• Information about product development and growth markets.

The market entered a period of sustained growth in 2013 driven by a buoyant new build market, with rising output in the office and infrastructure sectors in particular. This growth continued up to 2017, but the market stagnated in 2018 due principally to declines in the commercial office sector as well as in healthcare and education.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the Brexit process and its impact on the UK economy is a major factor negatively impacting market growth, especially in the commercial non-residential sector, whilst the public sector also faces constraints in public spending and uncertainty over the sources of funding for capital projects since the termination of PFI.

Factors supporting market growth include the introduction of new technologies and products, particularly in the area of energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions, driven by changing legislation and greater awareness of the issue. There has been a rapid expansion in the range of LED lighting and increasingly sophisticated building control systems for heating, lighting, and energy management.

Other factors stimulating growth are the continued strength in data centre construction and greater levels of outsourcing of M&E services, either singly or as part of wider multi-service FM contracts.

In the private sector, non-residential new work output remains susceptible to changes in levels of business confidence and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit has affected investment in the office sector. However, on the assumption that the outcome of the Brexit process does not have significant adverse effects on the economic climate, some return to modest growth is expected.

The public sector is also expected to see modest growth, though the availability of funding for future projects in healthcare and education is uncertain and the outlook for public sector construction may be unclear until the planned publication of the Government’s Spending Review later in 2019. The infrastructure sector will benefit from HS2 and some larger utilities contracts.