The “Lőrinc Mészáros of cleaning” to maintain Hungarian Pavilion for almost a billion

The Hungarian Pavilion at the Osaka World Expo will already cost a massive HUF 20 billion to build. It has now been revealed that facility management will costs an additional HUF 894 million, which will be done by B+N Referencia Zrt., a company that has already won numerous cleaning tenders from the government.

EXPO 2025 Hungary Nonprofit Kft., the company responsible for the Hungarian participation in the 2025 Osaka World Expo has launched a public procurement procedure for complex tasks at the end of September. The company was looking for contractors to carry out facility management tasks for the Hungarian pavilion at the Osaka World Expo. According to the text of the call for tenders, the winning company will have to both clean and guard the 2,500 m2 facility, where 4,000 people are expected to visit every day. They will also have to remove waste, provide laundry services, passenger transport services and gardening. All this in Japan, nearly 9000 km from Hungary, for six months.

Few could qualify

Despite the complexity of the work involved, the company did not split the tender, citing cost-effectiveness, so only companies capable of carrying out all the tasks at once were allowed to apply. But there were further conditions: any tenderer was disqualified if they didnt have:

• a reference for the continuous management of the facilities management of a building with a total net floor area of at least 1800 m2 for a minimum of 6 months without interruption;
• a reference for the uninterrupted 0-24 hour security and property protection of a building with an average daily attendance of at least 2500 visitors for at least 6 months;
• at least one qualified person with a university degree and at least 36 months of professional experience in building facility management and/or building operation;
• at least one qualified professional with a minimum of 36 months’ professional experience in the field of building cleaning, with a minimum of 36 months’ professional experience as a cleaning technology service manager or equivalent;
• at least one qualified security manager with a university degree and at least 36 months’ professional experience in building security and property protection;
• and has a total net turnover not exceeding HUF 1,5 billion in the three financial years preceding the date of dispatch of the call for tenders, as at the balance sheet date.

As one might imagine, not many companies could fit these criteria. Only 3 companies were able to submit bids: FAKULTÁS FM Zrt., UNI-FM Kft. and B+N Referencia Industrial, Commercial and Service Ltd.

Two of these companies, FAKULTÁS FM Zrt. and B+N Zrt. are registered at the same village, Tardona, Borsod County, which has only 960 inhabitants.

They are further connected by the owner of FAKULTÁS FM, Bükk Optimum Kft., which in turn is owned by Tamás Kaczkó and Anikó Volascsek. Kaczkó was previously a senior executive of B+N Zrt.

UNI-FM Ltd. is a Budapest-based company, and its owner is Laterex Építő Zrt., which is mainly known for its swimming pool construction, which they often undertake in partnership with companies tied to the government parties.

Of the three companies, B+N Zrt. submitted the cheapest bid, with a net price of HUF 894 018 811 (USD 2.29 million), and won the contract.

Ties to Orbán’s son-in-law

B+N also subcontracted JUNA-Sec Ltd. The company, based in Újlengyel, has never won a public contract on its own, but its revenue has been between HUF 1.7 billion and HUF 3.6 billion over the last five years.

Átlátszó has previously reported on the company’s success story several times. The company, which is close to the government, has won countless public contracts, be it for cleaning, operation or even pest control, earning the nickname „the Lőrinc Mészáros of cleaning”. The company had a turnover of HUF 111.9 billion last year.

With the facility management procedure, Hungary’s expenses on the 2025 World Expo could exceed HUF 20 billion (USD 51.25 million). The pavilion will be constructed by BAYER CONSTRUCT Zrt. for HUF 19.9 billion, a double of the original estimated price.

The CEO of BAYER CONSTRUCT is Attila Balázs, an enterpreneur with ties to Balázs István Tiborcz, Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law.

Balázs became well-known after co-buying the firm Solum-Invest with Appeninn Nyrt., in which Tiborcz was the chief shareholder at the time. A few month later, Solum Invest recieved a billion HUFs to develop the port of the lakeside town Balatonfüred. In the past five years, Balázs’s construction company recieved numerous lucrative construction projects from the government, which almost tripled its annual turnover, reaching HUF 63.8 billion in 2023.