We recently sat down with Paul Bateman, Chief Executive Officer at SOS Leak Detection, for his second Spotlight Interview. This time around, Paul elaborated on the company’s strategic move into FM, discussed the critical importance of early and intelligent leak detection, and explained why educating the market is key to protecting the integrity of a building.
SOS Leak Detection is a leading name in the insurance sector, responding rapidly to water emergencies and minimising damage for property owners across the UK. But as Paul explained, standing still in a changing market isn’t an option. “Diversify or die,” he said. “From a business continuity perspective, we have to look outside of the box.”
That strategic pivot has brought SOS into the facilities management and commercial property sectors, where the company discovered something surprising: whilst every building with a heating system will eventually develop leaks, very few FM teams fully understand the benefits of proactive leak prevention and detection.
Education is Key
“It’s not so much a misunderstanding as a lack of knowledge,” Paul said. “Not a lot of people know a lot about leak detection.”
This knowledge gap represents both a challenge and an opportunity. FM teams and building owners are under constant pressure to reduce downtime, control costs, and prove compliance.
When Paul speaks with facilities directors, the pressures they highlight are consistent: hidden leaks quietly erode budgets, damage assets, and create claims nobody wants. Water loss causes disruption, creates compliance risks, and generates mounting frustration and stress from boards, tenants, and insurers.
For FM providers whose success depends on never being noticed, and keeping operations running smoothly in the background, an unexpected water leak is a nightmare scenario that can damage both the building and their professional reputation.
“We’re here to help protect FM providers’ reputations, to help them do their jobs and to make sure they look good,” Paul emphasised. “We want to take their risks away, ease their concerns, and make sure they’re not having issues. Downtime, compliance, water loss – these are all considerable concerns for them. We can address all of them.”
A Different Approach
Paul explains that what FM teams truly want is a professional, reliable company that responds fast and keeps its word. They want a partner who brings calm, control, and confidence to what can otherwise be a chaotic situation. Success means the leak is found straightaway, disruption is minimised, and an efficient recovery is achieved.
What sets SOS apart isn’t revolutionary technology or secret methods, it’s something far simpler and, these days, far rarer: it’s doing exactly what they say they will do.
Paul explained: “If we say we’re going to be there at 9:00, we’ll make sure we’re there at 8:50. Our operatives arrive fully equipped with everything they need before explaining to the person in the building what they’re there to do, how they’re going to do it, and how that will impact them.”
Paul added: “We understand the cost, disruption, and reputational risk that leaks create, and we strive to eliminate as much of that risk as we can.”
It’s this empathy, combined with proven capability, that forms the foundation of SOS’s approach. Plus, the fact that all of their engineers are employed by SOS means that their customers can enjoy complete confidence in the consistency of service and standards provided.
The Three-Step Plan: Detect, Resolve, Report
SOS has distilled their service into a clear, repeatable process that gives FM teams confidence in what to expect:
- Detect: Pinpoint leaks using non-destructive technology that protects the building fabric whilst identifying the exact source of water loss.
- Resolve: Coordinate the fix quickly, protecting fabric and restoring confidence with minimal disruption to building operations.
- Report: Deliver operational reporting and insurer-ready documentation within 48 hours, providing complete transparency and supporting any claims processes.
The Numbers That Matter
SOS maintains impressively high reliability records that translate directly into value for FM teams. The company has delivered thousands of non-destructive leak detection jobs nationwide, finding 99% of leaks on the first visit.
Across approximately 8,000 jobs, SOS meets 98% of service level agreements, backed by a 4.9-star Trustpilot rating from hundreds of verified reviews. The company is a go-to partner, vetted by the most reputable insurers in the market.
“Leak detection is a reactive measure to a potentially catastrophic situation,” Paul explained. “Ensuring a prompt response with reliable outcomes gives FM teams assurance that they know the problem can be solved, easing stakeholder attention and ensuring services aren’t disrupted for longer than absolutely necessary.”
Building the Future
Looking ahead, Paul’s vision for success is both ambitious and pragmatic. “Success for us looks like being the go-to leak detection business in this space,” he said. The company’s ability to respond reactively across the UK gives
them a significant competitive advantage. Unlike many local providers, SOS can deliver consistent service quality nationwide, with insurer-approved methods and the same communication standards and reporting processes regardless of location.
“We have a foundation of core knowledge, experience, and expectations of what building owners expect,” Paul said.
The Stakes of Inaction for FM Teams
The contrast between success and failure in leak detection couldn’t be starker. When leaks are found and fixed quickly, FM teams benefit from lower bills, less downtime, improved efficiency, and critically, restored confidence from stakeholders.
Without professional intervention, the alternative doesn’t look good: ongoing loss of water and revenue, progressive structural damage, inflated insurance premiums, and a devastating loss of confidence from boards, tenants, and insurers.
Hidden leaks that go undetected for months can transform a minor maintenance issue into a major capital expense.
“Every minute a leak goes unnoticed costs time, money, and reputation,” Paul observed. “SOS stops the damage before it spreads.”
Building Trust Through Knowledge
Perhaps the most critical element of SOS’s FM strategy is education. Drawing on his experience in the rail sector, Paul understands the importance of consistent, repeated messaging about the benefits of effective leak detection.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to keep saying what you do and keep repeating it,” he reflected. “We just need to keep banging the drum.”
To support this educational mission, SOS is also working hard to develop helpful resources for FMs, such as the FM Leak Response Checklist, designed to help facilities teams benchmark their processes and understand best practices for handling water emergencies.
A Solution to the Problem
SOS’s value proposition for facilities management is straightforward but powerful. “There is a solution to the problem,” Paul said. “We can not only detect, identify and repair your leak in a non-destructive manner, but we can also offer preventative measures to ensure that future risks cause minimal disruption to building services,
as well as offering significant savings on water consumption.”
For FM teams, the implication is clear: buildings should perform efficiently, and when leak detection is done properly, they will.
The hidden leaks that have been going on for months, causing progressive damage and wasting water, can be caught early. The catastrophic failures that cause downtime and stakeholder panic can be prevented.
“If it’s done properly, then they shouldn’t happen in the first place,” Paul said.
A Clear Path Ahead
What excites Paul most about this new chapter is the combination of proven capabilities and fresh opportunities. “We’ve got a good service offering, we’ve got a good team, and we’ve got a good brand,” he said. “Using that as a springboard into different sectors, that’s the nice bit.”
The company isn’t fundamentally changing what it does; it’s applying its expertise to solve similar problems in a different context.
Over the next two to three years, success will be measured by balanced revenue streams, market recognition as a guiding voice in leak detection, and ultimately, by the number of FM teams who can sleep better knowing their buildings are protected.
Paul reflected: “It’s exciting that we’ve got the opportunity to take the business on the next stage of growth.”
With a proven track record, nationwide coverage, and a clear three step process that keeps operations running, SOS Leak Detection is well-positioned to help the FM sector prevent water crises that shouldn’t happen in modern, well-managed buildings. Sometimes the most revolutionary solution isn’t about doing something entirely new, it’s about applying proven expertise where it’s needed most, and simply doing exactly what you say you’ll do.
