FF&E procurement routes compared

At a glance

Typical patterns only: the contract documents decide. No route is shown as cheaper or dearer, because that depends on the project and on what each price includes. Tax treatment is not covered.

Four routes, four contract lines

FF&E means the loose and some fixed items that furnish a building but are not part of its structure or services. Where the line falls between FF&E and the construction scope is set by the contract, not by the term. How FF&E is bought is a separate choice, and four routes cover most projects:

• Contractor package. FF&E sits inside the construction contract. The main contractor buys it, coordinates it and answers for it as part of the building programme.
• Client-direct. The client buys FF&E under separate contracts with suppliers, outside the building contract. Designing Buildings notes that FF&E may be procured separately from the main construction contract, and the RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Overview records that some projects have one building contract for shell and core and another for FF&E (PDF page 122).
• FF&E agent. Someone is appointed to administer the buying for the client. BIID describes the designer acting as the client’s agent, supervising procurement, or running a client account into which the client pays a float to spend on FF&E. A separate procurement firm can act in the same capacity.
• Designer as principal. The designer sells some or all of the FF&E to the client, or provides a turnkey design and supply package. BIID warns that as principal the designer is liable and should take legal advice.

The drawing shows the contract lines in each route. The supplier box is where a bespoke FF&E supplier sits whichever route is chosen.

What changes with the route: risk, programme and warranty

The sources we read agree on one thing before any other: say clearly which contract each item is in. Designing Buildings puts it as defining very clearly which contract every element of FF&E is within, and adds that elements outside the main contract belong in the client’s cost plan. The RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Overview, in its Stage 5 cost tasks, speaks of managing the cost of items outside the building contract, such as furniture, fittings and equipment (PDF page 63).

• Gaps between contracts. Building work and services that FF&E needs for installation (power, fixings, access) have to be identified and procured, and FF&E installation has to be properly integrated into the main contract (Designing Buildings). Where FF&E is bought outside the building contract, this interface is the client’s to coordinate or to hand to an agent.
• Programme. The route decides who controls order dates. A group of long-lead items can be bought ahead of the main contract only where the client, agent or designer is placing the order. In a contractor package the order date follows the contractor’s appointment. For bespoke pieces, settle samples and shop drawings early either way: see the RIBA Plan of Work sheet.
• Warranty. BIID distinguishes a warranty, a promise written into a contract, from a guarantee, a commitment that is enforceable only if it is in writing. It says designers are unlikely to issue guarantees and should be clear about their legal rights against FF&E suppliers. Whichever route you choose, write down who gives the warranty, to whom, and for how long, and what goes in the O&M manual.
• One schedule. Whatever the route, one FF&E schedule that states the contract for each item removes most of the ambiguity: see the FF&E schedule template.

Agents, principals and disclosure

BIID calls the agent and principal distinction potentially one of the most complex contractual areas in FF&E and asks that it be well documented. Three points from its guidance, which we summarise rather than quote:

• Capacity must be clear. An agent supervises procurement on the client’s behalf. A principal sells to the client. The two carry different liabilities, and BIID says a principal must meet the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and related legislation.
• Be open about money. BIID says the designer should be as financially transparent as possible, with all FF&E transactions clearly recorded and statements issued. Its test for trade discounts is who benefits: a discount the client does not benefit from may be unlawful, and supplier commissions should be disclosed.
• Two ways to pick a supplier. BIID describes two basic routes to a supplier: a nominated supplier on negotiated terms, or competitive tender. Specialist items such as curtains, art, rugs, freestanding furniture and light fittings may be left out of the main contract and administered by the designer’s company, which BIID says is more typical of residential than commercial projects.

BIID does not endorse any procurement method and tells designers to take their own legal advice. So should you: the figure and grid describe common patterns, not a legal analysis.

Where a bespoke supplier sits

Make Bespoke Studio describes itself, on its hospitality FF&E procurement page, as an FF&E supplier and procurement partner that coordinates the manufacture and delivery of furniture, joinery, lighting and decorative work through its partner workshops, under a single specification, an itemised quote and a programme aligned to the opening or refurbishment. That page separates the roles: a procurement agent sources and buys items from other suppliers on a client’s behalf, while the studio coordinates the making of bespoke pieces to the designer’s drawings. Many schemes use both, an agent for catalogue items and equipment and a bespoke supplier for the pieces that give the interior its character.

In the drawing, that is the supplier box in routes 1, 2 and 3, and the supplier behind the designer in route 4. Which contract the supplier holds, and with whom, is set by each project’s documents. See also Hotel FF&E explained and the FF&E schedule template.

Questions to settle before you choose

• Which items are inside the building contract and which are outside it, and who coordinates the interface (power, blocking, fixings, access, storage, protection)?
• Who must give the warranty on each bespoke piece, to whom, and for how long?
• Which pieces are long-lead, and can they be ordered early under this route?
• Who reviews shop drawings and samples, and who releases production?
• Does the client want to see supplier prices and any margin, and is that written into the agreement?
• Who carries the cost of delay or damage in delivery, and whose insurance responds?
• If an agent or principal is used, in which capacity does it act, and has legal advice been taken?
• Do the client’s own rules, or a funder’s, limit the route? Public-sector clients may have procurement rules of their own, which this sheet does not cover.
• How are changes priced, approved and recorded?
• Who holds the certificates, O&M information and warranties at handover?

FF&E for [project] is procured by the [contractor package / client-direct / FF&E agent / designer-as-principal] route. The supply contract for [package] is held by [party]. [Party] coordinates delivery, installation and the interface with the building contract. The FF&E schedule [ref, revision] states, for every item, the contract it sits in. Warranties: [party] to [party] for [period], listed in the O&M manual.

The Contractor's FF&E package comprises the items in schedule [ref]. The Contractor is to obtain [the Employer's / the design team's] approval of shop drawings and samples before ordering, coordinate delivery with the building programme, and provide [warranties, test and fire certificates, O&M information]. The price is [a separate itemised section / a lump sum].

Items [refs] are supplied under separate contracts between the Employer and [supplier(s)], outside the building contract. The Contractor is to provide [power, blocking, fixings, access, storage] at [locations] by [date] and to receive and protect deliveries where instructed. Interface duties are listed in [ref].

[Party] acts as [the client's agent / principal] for [package], as stated in the appointment dated [date]. As agent it places orders on the client's behalf, issues [monthly] statements of orders and payments, and discloses any commission, discount or rebate. As principal it sells the items on the terms in [ref]. [Legal advice taken: yes / no.]

Standards and sources

• BIID: Professional Practice Series: FF&E (15 December 2020): agent and principal, disclosure, warranties (read 5 Nov 2026).
• Designing Buildings: Furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E): separate procurement (edited 30 June 2022).
• Designing Buildings: Procurement route: main contract routes (edited 14 Aug 2026).
• RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Overview: items outside the building contract (PDF pages 63 and 122).

Questions we are asked

What is the difference between an FF&E agent and a designer acting as principal?

An agent administers the buying on the client’s behalf, and the client is the buyer. A principal sells the FF&E to the client, buys it from suppliers and carries the responsibility for supply. BIID says a principal is liable and must meet the Sale of Goods Act 1979, and advises legal advice before taking that role.

Is it cheaper to buy FF&E through the contractor or directly?

The sources we read do not say, and we do not claim either. Compare like for like: what each price covers (supply, delivery, installation, coordination, warranty), who carries each risk, and how the programme is protected. See comparing bespoke quotes like for like.

What is client-direct FF&E procurement?

The client buys FF&E under separate contracts with suppliers, outside the building contract. Designing Buildings notes this is common where a client already has procurement systems, such as schools, universities or hospitals, and says it is very important to define which contract each element is within.

Who gives the warranty on bespoke pieces under each route?

It depends on the contract, and you should write it down. In a contractor package it normally runs through the main contractor. In client-direct and agent routes the supplier is the client’s counterparty. A principal designer-seller answers to the client as seller. BIID distinguishes warranties, which are promises in a contract, from guarantees, which must be in writing.

Can I use more than one route on the same project?

Yes. Our hospitality procurement page notes that many schemes use an agent for catalogue items and equipment and a bespoke supplier for the pieces that give the interior its character, and Designing Buildings notes that some items may be better under the main contract. Keep one schedule that states the contract for every item.

Does a public-sector project have to follow a particular route?

Public-sector clients may have procurement rules of their own, which this sheet does not cover. Ask the client’s procurement team before choosing a route.