Services Annual Report 2001 The services division of Ferrovial comprises urban services and building maintenance as well as facility management, handled by Ferroser Servicios (Ferroser), and integrated infrastructure maintenance, handled by Grupisa. In recent years, the group has attained market leadership in the latter two activities. Competitive situation In the last few years, an increasing number of urban services have been privatised in Spain with the  object  of  ensuring  professional  management  of  street  cleaning  and  solid  urban  waste collection and treatment by providing technical and financial skills. Recent  years  have  seen  the  formation  of  major  business  groups  which  compete  with  each other in a very mature market with sizable entry barriers. Forecasts indicate that municipal companies and services will continue to be privatised and that investments will increase due to ever more exacting regulations relating to environmental protection. In its search for improved efficiency and optimal resource management in all types of buildings, Ferrovial has concentrated on developing a profile as an external manager, capable of managing and maximising the yield from a company’s non-core assets (property and areas outside its sphere of activity) which nonetheless have a decisive effect on the bottom line. Companies benefit considerably from outsourcing services related to building maintenance as this enables them to reduce and control operating costs, manage risks and minimise the loss of asset value.Their assets are kept in optimum conditions and companies can focus on their core activity, thereby freeing up internal resources. The  outsourcing  of  services  (following  the  Facility  Management  model)  is  spreading  in  the private and public sectors, as instanced by the fact that this market, traditionally fragmented and local, is worth €12 billion annually.  Forecasts indicate that it will grow 20% in the next few years. In  the  segment  of  integrated  infrastructure  maintenance,  current  government  strategy  (the Road  Maintenance  and  Conservation  Plan)  is  shifting  attention  towards  rationalizing  and optimising the use of existing infrastructures while ensuring their upkeep and maintenance.