BEMS market performance suggests sector remains steadfast against ongoing construction challenges

With increased demand for smarter buildings due to ever-tightening sustainability standards, the building energy management systems (BEMS) market showed strong signs of resilience in Q2 2025, despite the ongoing challenges the rest of the built environment are facing.

While the wider construction industry saw new orders fall by 8.3%, the Building Controls Industry Association’s (BCIA) latest report revealed the BEMS sector’s drive for innovation and vital role in decarbonising the UK’s building stock saw significant growth in service and maintenance, and promising stability in product sales, revenue and installation value added.

BCIA President, Stacey Lucas, highlighted the increased significance of building controls and automation was likely a substantial factor in the market’s resilience during Q2. She said: “Despite the construction industry as a whole facing skills shortages and financial concerns, the BEMS market has held steady in a number of important metrics.

“This is no doubt due to the stringent sustainability and building quality standards, which are driving increasing numbers of building owners, facility managers and architects to reduce the carbon footprint of commercial buildings through the implementation of building controls and automation systems.”

Delving deep into the data and breaking down the BEMS market into three key areas; product, installation value added, and service and maintenance, the BCIA’s Market Intelligence Report (MIR) is released every three months.

With revenues up 11.9% to £54.9 million, compared to the previous quarter, service and maintenance remained a clear growth area for the BEMS sector. This is further enhanced by the 7.3% increase compared to Q2 2024. Although the rolling year total eased back by 3.6% to £209 million, this area of the sector continues to show strong momentum. In fact, manufacturers accounted for £9 million – a 16.4% share – while system installers delivered £45.9 million, a share of 83.6%.

Indicating mixed fortunes for the BEMS market in the second quarter of 2025, the total market value dropped to £204.7 million, a 6.2% decline on the previous quarter and a 5.3% decrease compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, the rolling year total market value was down 5% on the previous period, now standing at £821.8 million.

Across supply routes, system installer sales also took a slight downturn – down 9.3% to £23 million – while distributor and other channels slipped 8.3% to £6.9 million, OEM sales fell to £6.6 million, and manufacturers’ own installations dipped to £2.7 million. However, in a reflection of the strength of underlying demand, product revenue remained stable on a rolling year basis, settling at £162.6 million.

However, in further encouraging signs for the sector, the Installation Value Added saw a rolling year total of £450.2 million. Although this saw a quarterly decline of 11.4%, it demonstrates the continued importance of value-added services.

The largest revenue stream could be found in installed systems, with its rolling year total standing at £584.4 million. Despite that significant total, revenues in Q2 reached £143.2 million, representing a decline of 11.2% compared to the previous quarter.

Stacey continued: “While the sector, and the built environment as a whole, are facing challenges, the BEMS market continues to perform admirably. There is growing recognition of the advantage technological advancements can deliver for decarbonising the UK’s building stock and the BCIA continues to work with policy makers and industry leaders to support its members and increase this awareness for the betterment of the entire built environment.”

With facility managers and building owners becoming increasingly conscious of their carbon footprints and the need to implement technology in the creation of smarter buildings, the importance of building controls and automation cannot be understated – as the BCIA’s latest report highlights.

Offering extensive insights into growth and market trends across the BEMS sector and enabling a detailed understanding of the market, the MIR is produced and provided exclusively to BCIA members every quarter. Consequently, it is a hugely informative and useful resource with members able to track developments, recognise potential growth opportunities and navigate challenges with more knowledge and confidence.