Retail vision

Nick Atkinson, Managing Director and Kris Brown, Senior Operations Manager, Atlas Retail describe the specialist expertise required in providing FM services to the retail sector

Atlas FM recently announced the formation of a new specialist FM Retail business delivering cleaning, security, concierge services (and other associated FM services) to shopping centres, retail parks, leisure parks and mixed-use destinations. This marked the latest move in a period of massive growth for Atlas, which over the past decade has grown into a major UK facilities management company with an estimated £380m+ turnover.

In 2017 the company effectively doubled its size with the acquisition of security and cleaning provider Emprise and in 2022 expanded its capabilities into technical facilities management and hard services with the purchase of Salisbury Group and the establishment of a new Workplace Services division.

But it’s the transition to 100 per cent employee ownership through the creation of an Employee Ownership Trust at the end of last year which underlines the groups ethos says Atkinson, Managing Director of Atlas Retail. Nick joined Atlas following its acquisition of retail specialist Aston Services Group (ASG) in 2024, where he’d been MD since 2019.

“Atlas approaches every acquisition with the question; how does this help our clients? Is this going to benefit our colleagues and our clients and move the business forward in a way that not only makes commercial sense, but also genuinely improves things.

“It really comes down to making commercial sense by finding businesses that align with the same values and the same purposes. Because retail is such a unique environment and requires such a tailored service and expertise, ASG was a perfect opportunity.”

Commercially it also makes perfect sense. Commercial operators ranging from tech offices to retail parks accounted for approximately 41.95 per cent of the total UK FM market share in 2025 [Mordor Intelligence]. But retail is also one of the most pressurised sectors for FM. Retailers and their managing agents demand their FM providers enhance both their front-of-house customer experience and back-of-house logistical efficiency to increase footfall and profitability.

Atkinson is confident the newly branded Atlas Retail will meet the challenges: “As a specialist service provider of security and cleaning, and FM services to the retail sector, a lot of the ASG clients tend to extend their contract with us because of the high degree of service that we deliver. And now as part of Atlas retail, we’re looking to extend that success still further under the new branding and drive that specialism across the whole of the country.”

RETAIL EXPANSION

Atlas Retail has got ambitious plans for further growth by extending its portfolio of shopping centre sites across the country from ASG’s base in the North of England and the Midlands, by leveraging its relationships with existing managing agent clients including Savills, Ashdown Phillips and Monroe K. This wider geographical reach will also enable the company to expand its reach further by connecting with other leading managing agents, with whom the company doesn’t presently deal.

According to Kris Brown, Senior Operations Manager, Atlas Retail, Atlas delivers a single, integrated operating model, with each individual location supported by a dedicated management team offering a coordinated approach that ensures a high-quality environment for visitors, tenants and on-site teams.

This approach is spelt out from the start of the contract tender process beginning with a meeting with the on-site management team and representatives from the managing agents to gather a full understanding of their needs.

“We can’t deliver a service without understanding what is needed, and each contract is different in terms of the geographical location and requirements,” says Brown. “As part of a new contract, our tender document effectively becomes our Bible of what it is that we need to deliver and the specific requirements for us to deliver the best quality service needed.”

PEOPLE CENTRIC

For many of the new contracts, the existing teams are Tupe transferred and prior to mobilisation Atlas will check their contracted hours and carry out a skills analysis. As part of the Tupe meetings each member of the team will be asked about their knowledge of the industry, modes of service delivery and their understanding of the client’s requirements. This helps determine whether they know what they’re doing or require more mentorship to ensure a consistent level of service.

“But crucially,” says Brown, “we’ll always look to mentor people rather than to replace them as we want to take them on the journey with us.”

Atkinson says the emphasis is always on the customer experience, so for instance a shopper asking for directions at a mall won’t just be given directions but shown there by an Atlas team member as all the staff, whether from security, cleaning, housekeeping or concierge are trained to communicate with the general public.

Security personnel are not just there as a deterrent and to ensure people feel safe. They’re there to help and support visitors in a variety of ways, and if a member of security staff sees some rubbish on the floor of a shopping centre, they’ll pick it up, not leave it to the cleaner.

Says Atkinson: “When people come to a shopping centre they need to feel secure and see a nice clean environment. But on top of that, we go above and beyond in terms of ensuring that our staff are approachable, helpful, and are willing to enhance the entire visitor experience.”

Adds Brown: “It’s our people that make our company a success and without our teams on the ground delivering a service to our clients and visitors, we wouldn’t have a business. We look at our structure as an inverse pyramid, with day-to-day teams at the top and the management team sitting underneath.”

He explains that the cleaning, security, back-of-house and front-of-house teams are all equally important in the service delivery chain and Atlas will support them by providing the right tools, from the latest cleaning equipment to the right training, fair pay and flexible holidays, all designed to make them feel supported and cared for, which in turn, allows them to be able to deliver a fantastic service.

Good communication is also fundamental to delivering a safe, attractive and efficient environment. All the sites employ a variety of ways to communicate, whether by two-way radio, a chat group or face-to-face communication between security managers, cleaning managers and soft services managers; whether with the centre manager or other members of staff.

MEASURING SUCCESS

Unlike commercial offices, healthcare or education, retail-based FM has a direct remit to drive customer footfall and enhance brand reputation. The managing agent who runs the site on behalf of the landlord, will use KPIs and sales figures to produce reports on how the retail centre is performing.

Explains Brown: “Retailers and landlord’s budgets are very tight, so we will work with managing agents to help deliver a high-quality service within that budget. We don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ product that we can pick off a shelf and market at a specific price.

“We need to remain fluid within our operations to understand the trends within the retail sector and the demands and the requirements of our clients.”

Measuring the performance of soft services in retail facilities management involves tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) including the occupancy levels of retail tenants and the throughput of people, and Atkinson reports that the retail business exceeds virtually every KPI report that they submit because they go above and beyond what is expected.

“We’re so public facing, there’s nowhere to hide in terms of the cleanliness and the security of the place so we do directly have an impact, in terms of ensuring that people are coming to a shopping centre where they feel secure, the toilets are clean and well managed and the overall experience not only encourages them to visit the centre, but stay there for longer periods.”

Many of the managing agents deploy mystery shoppers who report back on the level of cleanliness and the feeling of security, with which an FM team can be held to account on any complaints.

CONCLUSION

Atlas Retail is keen to expand geographically, particularly into London, the Home Counties, and the South East, where they’ve had light representation. Now being part of the wider group, these ambitions are backed by a considerable support structure, particularly in the Home Counties where Atkinson reports they’re keen to leverage the Atlas group’s bandwidth and scale to help drive their growth.

He says: “Our expertise is shopping centres and retail parks, and that is why Atlas is supporting us in continuing to develop business in those sectors where our specialist approach sits. We don’t measure success with KPIs because, from our perspective, if you train, and put the investment into the people, the KPIs will manage themselves and if you’re not looking after the people that deliver the service, you can have all the KPIs in the world that you want, but you won’t deliver the performance.

“The key to success is the level of specialism that we offer. We’re at the heart of a customer facing environment, so whether it’s a city centre, an out-of-town shopping mall or retail park, or a large flagship destination we’re there to deliver that clean, secure and welcoming experience.”