NHS SBS launches £400m Hard FM3 framework with 28 lots, down from 46 on Hard FM2

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has launched Hard FM3, a hard facilities management framework worth up to £400m for NHS and wider public sector bodies, running from 20 October 2026 to 19 October 2028.

The framework, reference SBS10524, carries an option to extend to 19 October 2030 and offers 28 specialist lots, NHS SBS said. It was procured under the Procurement Act 2023 and replaces the Hard FM2 framework.

Olivia Mallett, Principal Category Manager at NHS SBS, said: "Estates teams are managing increasingly complex challenges, from ageing infrastructure and backlog maintenance to statutory compliance and the transition to more sustainable estates."

She added: "Our Hard Facilities Management 3 Framework (SBS10524) has been designed to meet the evolving needs of NHS and wider public sector organisations by providing a compliant, flexible and efficient route to market."

The lots

According to NHS SBS, the 28 lots range from building management systems and electrical and mechanical maintenance to medical gas pipeline services and statutory inspections, critical ventilation, standby power systems, estates consumables and fully managed hard FM services.

In an earlier NHS SBS article, Mallett said Hard FM3 builds on Hard FM2 with expanded lots for air handling units, filtration, cooling, refrigeration and critical ventilation, and new hire lots for electrical and environmental backup plant. She also described a strengthened commercial model with a national schedule of rates and training rates.

NHS SBS said the framework uses a regional delivery model to encourage bids from both national suppliers and SMEs, and incorporates sustainability and social value considerations.

Smaller than Hard FM2

The new framework is smaller than the one it replaces on NHS SBS's own figures. When it launched Hard FM2, NHS SBS said it expected £800m of spend through the framework over four years and awarded places to 154 suppliers across 46 lots. It said at the time that Hard FM2 could provide up to 10% savings for estate, facilities and capital development teams.

Framework	Lots	Headline value
Hard FM2	46	£800m expected spend
Hard FM3	28	Up to £400m

NHS SBS has not set out the reasons for the reduction in its announcement.

Timing

NHS SBS's Hard FM2 page says that framework, reference SBS10166, expired on 11 October 2026 and is no longer available for new call-off contracts. The launch announcement gives Hard FM3 a start date of 20 October 2026, while the Hard FM2 page says customers would have access to the replacement on 26 October. An earlier NHS SBS article had said Hard FM3 would launch in September 2026.

The market

NHS SBS said the framework responds to pressures including ageing infrastructure, increasing statutory and regulatory requirements, workforce constraints, backlog maintenance and the transition to net zero.

It cited NHS England's Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC) data, which puts the estimated cost of eradicating backlog maintenance across the NHS estate at £15.9bn. NHS England's ERIC 2024/25 publication, dated 16 October 2025, defines that figure as the investment needed to restore buildings to a defined condition based on assessed risk, excluding planned maintenance. The same publication puts the total cost of running the NHS estate at £14.0bn.

In its earlier article, NHS SBS said the estimated backlog cost rose by 57.88% between 2019 and 2025, and referred to the government allocating £750m through the Estates Safety Fund for 2025-26.

NHS SBS was established in 2004 by the Department of Health and Social Care in partnership with Sopra Steria. It says it provides services to more than half the NHS in England and has delivered more than £1bn in savings to the health service.

The initial Hard FM3 term ends on 19 October 2028.