British Telecom

British Telecom's Building Management Division (BMD) has its headquarters in the City of London, responsible for the management of 52 central London and 90 provincial headquarters buildings, housing a total of 19 500 staff. The division — now 1000 strong and possibly the largest single facilities management operation in this country — was formed in 1980, when British Telecom's services were separated from the Post Office in the run‐up to the 1984 privatisation. Initially the department was responsible only for maintenance works and the day‐to‐day running of the buildings, relying on other units to deal with communications and support services, property acquisitions and disposals, and major fitting‐out works. As a nationalised industry, BT relied heavily on the government's Property Services Agency (PSA) for all professional services and for the evaluation and purchase of furniture and other supplies.