OCS has secured a contract extension and portfolio expansion with British Land, one of the UK’s largest commercial real estate companies, building on an eight-year partnership to deliver soft services across more than 50 sites throughout the UK.
Starting 1st April 2026, OCS will continue servicing British Land’s western portfolio while taking on responsibility for its eastern portfolio for the first time, integrating the two parts of the business into a single, cohesive soft services operation.
Three priorities shaped British Land’s decision to extend and expand the partnership: the strength of the relationship and visibility of the OCS account management team; a people-centred approach to service delivery; and a shared drive for efficiency and value that holds firm against OCS’s service commitments. Approximately 600 OCS colleagues will work across the combined estate, with 350 transferring under TUPE.
OCS follows a self-delivery model, aiming for more than 95% of core services to be delivered in-house, ensuring British Land maintains consistent standards and a single point of accountability across the portfolio. The partnership has been founded on a shared commitment to efficiency and ongoing improvement.
Over the past eight years, OCS has implemented LEAN methodology across the British Land estate, helping site teams to identify and eliminate waste, streamline workflows, and enhance service standards. This approach continues into the new contract term, alongside the OCS Live portal, which offers both site teams and British Land’s property managers real-time performance data, security intelligence updates, and shared innovation across the wider portfolio. On sustainability, OCS submitted a carbon-neutral bid for this contract, demonstrating the company’s commitment to lowering its environmental impact on every project it undertakes.
Via the proposed Annual Welfare and Social Value Funds, OCS are investing into the colleagues on the portfolio by introducing a bonus and reward scheme to all the sites that previously lacked a formal recognition programme, creating a consistent and fair experience for everyone working on the British Land portfolio. OCS Protect is being rolled out across all sites to ensure the safety of lone and remote workers, which is especially important for smaller retail parks with fewer staff.
OCS Immerse, the company’s immersive training platform, will also be utilised throughout the estate to onboard and develop colleagues during the contract period. Alan Pruden-Barker, Regional Operations Director, British Land “For eight years, OCS has helped us drive performance, sharpen efficiencies, and deliver meaningful improvements across our sites. We appreciate their commitment and energy, and now with more sites across the UK under the new contract, we’re looking forward to building on that momentum in the years ahead.”
Denis Copeland, Regional Operations Director, British Land, said: “Having observed the difference OCS has made in the West, providing high-quality soft services to our retail park and shopping centre businesses, I am delighted to be part of the internal team responsible for awarding OCS the contract in the East of England. Their dedication to improving standards, innovation, service excellence, genuinely looking after their people and commitment to training, including apprenticeships, have all factored highly in the decision-making process. We are looking forward to replicating these high standards on the east through a truly combined single service model.”
Claire Rumsey, Sector Managing Director, Destinations, OCS UK & Ireland, said: “Our relationship with British Land has been built on eight years of consistent delivery and genuine collaboration. The extension of our existing partnership and the inclusion of British Land’s eastern portfolio reflect the confidence gained from working closely together over a long period. With around 600 colleagues now across more than 50 locations, our focus remains on delivering the consistency and quality that British Land’s teams and their customers expect, while investing in the well-being and development of every colleague on the estate.”
The expanded partnership aligns with OCS’s long-term aim of strengthening ties within the Destinations sector, where the scale and consistency of a fully integrated soft services provider generate lasting value for customers and colleagues alike.
