Integrated, innovative and impressive to the core, Apleona UK represents the finest in facility management
From the manufacturing and industrial sectors through to education, healthcare, corporate and the public sector, Apleona provides innovative integrated facilities management (IFM) services to all corners of the UK and Europe. Priding itself on self-delivering its solutions with a technically led approach, Apleona’s capabilities cover everything from complete building services engineering and workplace experience services including cleaning, front of house security and catering, through to decarbonization projects and fit-out, making it a true leader within its field.
Apleona was founded in 1971, originally as a soft services provider, and boasts a legacy rich in FM excellence and German engineering prowess. The company has been through various guises over the last 50 years, initially a part of Bilfinger until it divested its FM businesses in 2016; it was at that time that the ‘Apleona’ name was born. In the years that followed, Apleona has transformed into an FM powerhouse, providing integrated FM and technical services to over 30 countries across Europe and growing its annual revenue from €1 billion to €4 billion in 2024. Today, Apleona is headquartered in Neu-Isenburg, Germany – with its UK division based in London – and has around 43,000 employees across the continent. Building upon its previous successes, the company continues to champion its core values and scaling its state-of-the-art digital solutions and project delivery to new heights.
To find out more about how Apleona UK is growing and evolving, Manufacturing Today sits down with Adrian Connor, Managing Director and Mark Graham, Commercial Director, who share exclusive insight into business’ recent developments and future plans. They begin our conversation with an introduction to Apleona’s capabilities and specialisms.
“Apleona has been around for a long time, and, over the years, we’ve evolved our offering,” Mark says. “Today, our capabilities comprise a full suite of IFM solutions, with technical services and decarbonization now accounting for more than 75 percent of the work we do. Our strength lies in our ability to self-deliver most of our services, with a particular emphasis on intelligent technology applications, such as AI.”
“We have a very good business model. Self-delivery gives us greater quality control and better cost efficiency for our customers. That’s where our core focus is, together with decarbonizing our customers’ real estate,” Adrian adds.
Apleona UK’s journey has benefited from targeted acquisitions and winning exciting projects – all of which have been integral to its expansion. In 2023, for example, the company finalized the acquisition of JCW Energy Services (JCW). Based in Cambridgeshire, JCW specializes in M&E and in particular HVAC solutions, and so was a natural enhancement to Apleona UK’s existing capabilities.
“The acquisition of JCW has strengthened our national coverage; it brought over 250 skilled and qualified engineers to the business – deployed all across the UK – almost overnight,” Mark elaborates. “It deepened the mobility of our self-delivery capabilities, and, from that, we now offer a more robust, technically led FM service with even better reach and responsiveness for our clients across the entire breadth of the UK.”
In August 2025, Apleona UK was thrilled to announce its most recent acquisition of Corrigenda, a technical FM specialist situated in Hampshire. Marking Apleona UK’s third acquisition since 2022, the development further confirms its market-leading position and the continuity of its upwards growth trajectory.
Such acquisitions, however, aren’t the only investments that Apleona has made to augment its operational efficiency and geographical presence. Digitalization has been a major part of Apleona UK’s growth, particularly with the increased accessibility of AI, which has taken over several of its previous IoT technologies.
“IoT is still a valid technology today in specific circumstances, but much of our technology has transitioned into more AI, data-driven interfaces,” Adrian explains. “AI is much more readily available now and has given us the ability to develop our own platforms that plug straight into the building systems. Being able to monitor energy and utility consumption in real time helps us to optimize building efficiency for our customers and importantly prevent downtime.”
Mark continues: “The power of the tools that we deploy for our customers is interesting because we’re able to drill down into the asset remotely and often reduce needless engineering visits. We’re able to assess the performance of that asset and its sub-assets to adjust the settings remotely.”
Apleona UK remains the FM solutions provider of choice for industry leaders across the country, taking on an increasing number of intriguing projects year upon year. One recent success for Apleona UK was with a paper mill in Kent – one that showcased the best of Apleona capabilities and professionalism and the building of a brilliant partnership between the two businesses. 
Adrian comments: “Our customer has one of the largest paper mills in the UK, based in Kent. We’re hugely proud to support them in this endeavor. We were asked to provide specific FM services and make a step change in catering service delivery on site. We’re supporting this customer in their delivery and developing a genuine and collaborative relationship that we are confident will be enduring.”
In providing its comprehensive scope of top-quality services, Apleona UK is dedicated to empowering and supporting the missions and goals of its customers, such as with their sustainability journeys. Over the course of the last two years, the company has further developed its environmental initiatives, employing technology to monitor energy usage and carbon emissions and forming sustainability-focused partnerships within its supply chain.
Such excellence has led, once again, to Apleona UK’s recognition at the prestigious Green Apple Environmental Awards. Winning its fourth award in three years, Apleona UK is one of just 15 companies to receive National Champion status in the Property & Estate Management/Corporate Innovation category – an achievement that’s symbolic of its continuous improvement.
“Apleona UK has been entering the Green Apple Awards for years and we’re always very fortunate to come out of it with an award. It’s a competitive field, but I think where we’ve been successful is in that we’re able to continually show where we’re supporting our customers along their net zero journey,” Adrian reveals. “It’s also in recognizing that much of the carbon being generated as part of our service delivery is from our supply chain. Therefore, we look all the way through our supply chain – end to end – to find ways to reduce consumption and buy more sustainable products and services.”
“We tend to select partners that have the tools to enable the end user to make the right choices in their consumption and help the environment,” Mark adds. “As well as that, we’re actively electrifying our vehicle fleet, not just in the UK but across Europe. We’ve numerous strategic initiatives in place to help us to reduce our footprint.”
Of course, sustainability is just one of the fundamental principles that Apleona UK holds close to its core. The company’s commitment to people, both its customers and own workforce, has been the key driving force behind its longevity and continued success.
“Our people and our culture are such that you feel a part of the family really quickly, and I think that that stems from our values. Those things aren’t unusual to any organization, but it’s the way that they’re embraced by us in the way that we treat our teams and our colleagues,” Adrian affirms. “The spirit in which we do business is reflective of how supportive we are in our customers’ own journeys, helping to solve all their real estate challenges. Our culture is very much about empowering our teams, keeping them motivated to do great work and celebrating our successes.”
Indeed, the sun shines brightly on the future of Apleona UK. With its exceptional track record and perpetual strive for innovation, the company is well-positioned to continue upon its current trajectory, growing strategically whilst upholding its high standards and passion for excellence.
“Between now and the next five years, we’re very much trying to become Europe’s leading technology-led FM provider, and that will be driven by growing our footprint and making strategic acquisitions that grow our capabilities and help us enter new geographies and market sectors. We’re going to be investing hugely in technology to support our teams to be better, faster and smarter, and AI is such a fantastic tool if you know how to harness it. We’re now helping our teams to become familiar with using these new tools so that they’re comfortable and prepared for the future,” Adrian concludes. “It’s all moving so fast, but from our perspective, the future is really bright and exciting.”