IFPI was established in 1969 by building economist Bernard Williams concurrently with the founding of his professional practice Bernard Williams Associates (BWA). Originally named Building Economics Bureau (BEB) IFPI has since been actively involved in research, publishing, conferences and (more recently) software development aimed at professionals at the cutting edge of property, construction and facilities management in the UK and internationally. The company’s mission is to provide the means whereby many of the more complex issues currently facing the industry can be more readily assimilated and addressed by busy professionals.

Standard reference works such as ‘facilities economics’ and ‘whole-life economics of building services’ are available electronically, and new web-enabled programs include the EstatesMaster Facilities Benchmarking model and the CombiCycle Whole-life Cost and Sustainability Prediction program. Plans are now well-advanced to expand the capabilities of CombiCycle to accurately reflect the whole-life cost and sustainability of buildings constructed using off-site techniques.