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Growing Trusts, Stretched Estates: Why Every MAT Needs an Academy Trust Estate Strategy

  • Rob Main
  • Oct 22
  • 2 min read

In 2024, the number of Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) with 10 or more schools increased by 21%, with further growth expected throughout 2025 as DfE policy continues to favour consolidation and expansion.



Trusts Are Growing But Are Their Buildings Keeping Up?


Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) are expanding at pace. With government policy actively encouraging school mergers and larger trusts, MATs are inheriting complex, ageing estates, each with different layouts, standards, and priorities.


While governance and staffing structures may be centralised, many MATs are still operating with disconnected, outdated, or inconsistent physical environments.


That’s a problem, not just for efficiency, but for identity, outcomes, and operational resilience.


MAT leadership team reviewing school estate strategy during trust expansion

The Estate Problem That Comes with Growth


As MATs expand, so do the challenges:


  • Inherited buildings of mixed quality and compliance

  • Staff working in vastly different environments across sites

  • Disparate suppliers, warranties, and product standards

  • Inconsistent maintenance and reactive spending

  • Little cohesion in branding, layout or learning environments


For a trust trying to deliver a unified education strategy, this fragmentation is a serious barrier.



Why Your Estate Strategy Is Now a Leadership Issue


Buildings reflect leadership. The look, feel, and function of your spaces communicate your trust’s values, to staff, students, parents, and Ofsted.


Smart MATs are now taking a strategic approach to their estate by:


  • Creating trust-wide design standards

  • Centralising FF&E procurement and refurbishment decisions

  • Planning phased upgrades aligned with long-term growth

  • Using layout and design to support trust-wide pedagogical aims


It’s not just about efficiency, it’s about impact.



The Benefits of Standardising Your Spaces


A consistent, high-quality space strategy across your trust helps you:


  • Deliver consistent pupil experience across schools

  • Increase brand trust and community perception

  • Reduce long-term cost through bulk procurement and durability

  • Boost staff retention through improved environments

  • Make inspections smoother with standardised compliance


Think of it as building a scalable estate, one that grows with your ambition.



How Brookhouse Supports Expanding Trusts


Brookhouse works with MATs across the UK to create cohesive, compliant and future-ready environments, no matter how complex the estate.


Here’s what we offer:


  • Trust-wide consultation and strategic planning

  • Scalable refurbishment solutions across multiple schools

  • Brand-aligned FF&E ranges and modular layouts

  • BIM-ready designs, CAD visuals and compliance support

  • Term-time or holiday installation, phased across sites

  • A single point of contact for clarity, speed and continuity


Whether it’s teaching walls, labs, washrooms or staffrooms, we bring consistency and excellence to every school in your academy trust estate strategy.



Final Thought Growth without strategy leads to inconsistency. But with the right partner, your trust’s estate can reflect your vision and support every pupil and staff member inside it.


Let Brookhouse help you create a space strategy that scales with your trust.


Ready to put your funding to work?


Get in touch with Brookhouse on 0345 383 0050, or email us on inspire@brookhouseuk.com


Let’s design a space that enables success.








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