What happened

Mace Construct, the contracting business that split from the Mace Consult advisory arm in March, will trade under a new name, Forco, from January 2027. Construction Enquirer and Building reported this week that around 60 active sites will carry the new branding from the start of next year, with more than 2,000 helmets and hi-vis vests replaced in the switch. The firm has committed to dropping the Mace name entirely by June 2027.

The rebrand lands alongside a leadership reshuffle that was already under way. Chief executive Jason Millett, 18 years at the business, is stepping down by the end of the year, and finance chief David Allen left the board in October, with group financial director Tony Arthurton covering as interim CFO. Executive chairman Mark Reynolds, the firm's largest shareholder, is taking a more active role and is set to become chairman and chief executive of Forco from January.

The timing follows a difficult set of 2025 accounts. Construction Enquirer reported a pre-tax loss of £61.8m for the carve-out year, against revenue up 10% to £2.3bn, with around £23m of that loss down to restructuring and separation costs from the Mace Consult split. Reynolds has said he expects revenue to head back towards £2bn and beyond as the new strategy, including a target of £3bn in revenue by 2030, takes hold.

Why it matters

A name change rarely moves markets on its own, but this one sits on top of a genuine change of control. The exit of both the chief executive and finance director in the same year, right as the business adopts a new identity, says the carve-out from Mace Consult was not just a paperwork exercise. Forco is being built as a standalone contractor with its own balance sheet, its own targets and, in time, its own leadership team answering to Reynolds rather than to the old group structure.

For a business of this size, that kind of reset tends to ripple through the organisation chart below board level too, as new leadership settles in and reviews reporting lines, regional structures and project teams.

What it means for careers and hiring

If you work on a Mace Construct site, or are weighing an approach from the business, expect the next six months to bring internal movement as Reynolds shapes his executive team. Watch for appointments below CEO and CFO level, particularly in commercial and finance leadership, since those are the roles most likely to turn over in a rebrand year. Candidates with a CV that already says Mace should not worry about the name change itself; the contracts, programmes and experience behind it carry over regardless of what the hi-vis says. But if you are mid-process with the business, it is worth asking directly who you would report to once Forco's structure settles, given both the CEO and CFO seats are in motion. For commercial and project leadership candidates eyeing a move into a well-funded, reorganising contractor with a stated £3bn revenue ambition, this is a business actively shaping its senior team right now, which is exactly the window worth approaching.