All projects involve trade-offs. If the construction partner leads, the trade-offs will be made in favour of the building - resulting in more cost-effective construction. If the hard FM partner leads, trade offs will be made in favour of maintenance - resulting in design solutions that need less maintenance, but which may not be most cost effective or ft for purpose in terms of end-service delivery.
When the service provider leads a project, then the compromises that inevitably have to be made during the design and construction process will be made with a view to the ultimate effectiveness of service provision. Because service delivery is the soft service provider's priority, the compromise will be more likely to offer the best solution for the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of service provision throughout the life of the contract:
"The builder wants to build the building at the cheapest cost he can to produce a compliant design. The SPV* will try and balance this capital expenditure with the best design life to produce the cheapest whole life cost. The soft services provider looks at it from the point of view of disruption to services. If it disrupts service provision the FM provider is exposed to financial penalties, but the authority will also have increased operating costs that do not appear in the original calculation. So cheapest might not be best."
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* Special Purpose Vehicle - the joint venture, usually composed of builders, bankers and service providers, with whom the PFI contract is signed.