First established as a service in 1961 by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, BCIS is the UK’s leading cost benchmarking and valuation platform for construction.
BCIS supports approximately 4,000 customers across the construction, facilities management and insurance sectors, providing access to the industry’s most comprehensive data sets on building costs and rates. Subscribers access its services through a range of online applications, publications and data licensing agreements.
Partnership to invest in technology and data
LDC backed the management team, led by CEO James Fiske, in 2022 to further invest in its technology platform and data in order to enhance its services and insight for its customers.
RICS will continue to retain a minority shareholding in the company.
We were impressed by LDC’s track record in supporting data-led, technology-based businesses like ours, as well as its experience of working with professional bodies as a co-investor. They also quickly understood the importance of our customer relationships, who rely on our services day in, day out, to deliver for their clients. This is an exciting new chapter for BCIS, its customers and its people.”
In June 2023, BCIS announced the acquisition of price book business Griffiths & Hutchins Publications to expand its offering to the built environment industry. This will boost efforts to support the market with construction costs and will also help BCIS on its journey into carbon and international markets.
Sustainable partnerships and launching new tools.
Benefiting from the scale of LDC’s network, BCIS partnered with former LDC portfolio company NBS to help support the industry in its drive to net-zero buildings. The partnership provides construction professionals with powerful insights –helping with more sustainable design decisions that are compatible with their budget.
BCIS also launched a Cost and Carbon Materials Database to help construction companies to address the climate emergency. The database has been designed to become the main source of carbon estimating and benchmarking for the industry.
In 2024, BCIS was awarded the Net Zero Champion Gold Award at the Engineering Matters Awards for its commitment to decarbonising the built environment sector.