This year there has been a number of high profile mergers and acquisitions in the catering and FM sectors, including CH&CO and HCM, and Lexington and Elior. Litmus decided to undertake research to discover the impact of change.
Nigel Forbes, managing partner at The Litmus Partnership, said: “Given the period of consolidation the services sector has been going through, and will likely continue to go through, it was important to find out what clients really feel about this issue.
“Many assumptions are made by clients and contractors alike but this is the first time that detailed research has been completed to reveal how clients really feel in these situations.
“The overall impression is that clients prefer that there be no change but if there is change, the critical factors for contractors to address are good communication and continuity of service and product quality.
“Most clients appear to trust the relationships they have built up with their contractor and are prepared to give them the space to watch how things progress but we also know that many will consider retendering if standards slip.”
It found that clients prefer stability with 74% stating that no change in contractor status would be preferable and 60% stated their second preference was that their contractor acquired another contractor.
The biggest concern was that service and product quality would reduce (82%) and 62% of clients were worried that costs will increase as a result of the merger/acquisition.