Fellow members, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the 2026 BESA President's Lunch.

I am genuinely excited and, if I am honest, just a little daunted to be taking on the role of your President today. Thank you for the trust you have placed in me. It is a privilege to serve the Association and lead us through what I believe will be a pivotal year.

Our businesses face real challenges, but I am genuinely optimistic because this industry has shown, time and again, that it can adapt, improve and deliver.

Our Top 30 M&E Contractors Report, which we are sharing with you today, shows companies and individuals innovating, collaborating and raising standards so our industry keeps moving forward.

It also shows that culture change, competence, compliance and better behaviours are foundations for business success.

Our sector's collective turnover has risen from £4.7 billion to more than £6 billion since last year's report. That is worth celebrating because it was achieved in the face of considerable economic pressure and during a period of global upheaval.

Our businesses are embracing the benefits offered by automation, artificial intelligence, integration and better use of data, not simply to cut costs, but to improve quality, reduce rework and make better technical decisions earlier.

More of us are also making collaboration a practical way of working because the scale of the challenges ahead means none of us can succeed alone.

Many of you will remember 2012 and London's Olympic Games, just up the river from here. I read recently that pride in being British reached an all time high during those few weeks.

I was there in the stadium on that historic Super Saturday when British gold medals just kept coming. While I was proud of the athletes' achievements, I was also reflecting on the engineering teams that had made it all possible by building the stadium, including people from my own company.

That was true collaboration: different companies focused on one shared outcome, with everyone pitching in to make it happen.

I work for a major contractor now, but began my building services journey around the kitchen table with my parents, who established our family ductwork business in the early 1970s.

I helped my mother with the payroll and retyped contracts as a teenager, so I was exposed from an early age to the financial challenges all small businesses in our sector face.

I remember my father railing against retentions even back then. We reached the point where we had more than £1 million held back from a business turning over just £12 million.

How ridiculous that an industry could try to function like that.

Ultimately, it was a major bad debt that put the company into liquidation, but if we could have freed up just some of the retentions money we were owed at the time, we might well have weathered the storm.

It was retentions that led me to take a more active role in BESA, and I went on to chair the Legal & Commercial Committee for many years. That experience showed me the value of working through our trade association to tackle challenges no single business can solve alone.

So, it will be another source of pride if my presidential year coincides with long awaited legislation that finally makes retentions illegal.

I want to congratulate and thank everyone at BESA who has worked for decades to remove this unfairness from our industry because making our industry fairer also makes it better and, therefore, more attractive to future generations.

We are fortunate today to have Nicola Walters from the Department for Business and Trade as our guest. Civil servants are frequently disparaged by the press and politicians, but they have to make sense of frequently contradictory policy.

In this case, Nicola and Fergus Harradence recognised the problems that late payment and cash retentions cause our industry and robustly challenged the status quo, it has to be said, in the face of concerted opposition.

We have all heard: "It can't be done. It's impossible to change." Well, they have made it happen.

On behalf of BESA member companies, thank you, Nicola. This will make a difference.

It would also be wrong not to acknowledge the work of our ECA colleagues on this new Act, particularly their CEO, Steve Bratt. It is only when we work together that we can achieve meaningful change.

ECA President Glenn Grant is also here today, so again, on behalf of BESA, thank you.

My background means my kids know what ductwork is and at least pretend not to be bored when I point out the buildings we have helped to create. But you can't say that for many of today's younger generation.

There has been much recent discussion about the one million young people who are NEET, not in employment, education or training, and about how we can harness their unused potential.

Our industry needs more from this digitally literate generation, and that is another reason for my optimism. Building services has changed beyond recognition and now offers huge opportunities to all.

Just look at where our skills are in demand now: power grids, data centres, life sciences, defence, healthcare and more. It is a world away from the industry I joined more than 20 years ago and the one my parents knew.

Our Top 30 report shows that office construction and fit out remain strong, while infrastructure output is forecast to rise by more than 3% this year and by a further 3% in 2027.

Building engineering contributes, on average, more than 50% of construction project value, and our specialist services are essential to delivering that work.

AI will bring significant efficiency benefits, but you can't build new infrastructure from your bedroom. You need hands on skills and you need to be together, talking around the table with your fellow professionals to turn concepts into physical structures.

It is into this world that we must recruit more young people who are not currently in employment, education or training.

However, apprentices and new entrants need to start out on the right path. Skills and technical standards matter, but so does attitude. If we get that right, we build careers, improve quality and delivery, and strengthen the whole industry.

BESA is helping through skills initiatives such as the revamped School Engagement and Engineering Discovery programme, known as SEED, and our Skills Legacy campaign.

Supported by the Manly Trust, Skills Legacy is recruiting experienced engineers to become qualified trainers and assessors who can help plug significant gaps in our industry's further education provision.

That support is vital if we are to meet rapidly growing demand for skilled workers, and I am pleased to hear that the numbers are rising quickly.

I hope more of you will consider joining the scheme because there is nothing more rewarding than giving a young person a chance and then seeing them progress.

But will they give us a chance?

Talented young people have options, so we must make our case strongly. This is an industry where you can use technology, solve practical problems, contribute to society and build something that lasts.

If we want a competent and motivated workforce fit for modern challenges, and able to meet the demands of a more heavily regulated and scrutinised sector, we must show young people why this work matters.

One of those big, regulated challenges is the Building Safety Act. This has already fundamentally reshaped the business landscape for BESA members. It is a clear signal that commercial decisions now carry legal, technical and ethical responsibility.

Competence must be demonstrated and duty cannot be outsourced.

And the companies embracing that shift are the ones moving forward.

Clients, principal contractors and specialists must now appoint competent people to every specific role. Procurement cannot be driven by speed and cost alone.

So the question is no longer simply: "How do I get this done cheaper?"

It is:

Can this company deliver safely, compliantly and properly?

That is where BESA membership provides real, measurable value. Regular BESA Competence Assessment Standard audits give clients evidence of our members' skills, competence and compliance.

BESA's Member Pledge is also helping companies put systems in place to drive culture change through their supply chains and keep competence at the heart of business strategy.

Confidence is returning to construction, and client demand for contractors who can prove compliance is rising.

As an industry, there is a sense that this is our moment. Our services are increasingly valued and our contribution increasingly recognised.

The pandemic showed us the value of ventilation. This summer demonstrated that air conditioning is not a luxury but a necessity. And our members are building the data centres that will help drive future growth.

This is our moment. We can be confident that we are starting to fulfil our purpose of creating a better industry, fit for the future.

Thank you for listening, thank you for the work you do and now, enjoy your lunch.

Nick Mead has more than four decades of experience in building engineering, spanning contracting, consultancy, technical leadership and industry representation.

He began his career as an apprentice with Haden Young in 1978, studying for an HND at National College before completing a BSc in Environmental Engineering at the Polytechnic of the South Bank in London. He became a member of CIBSE in 1985 and achieved Chartered Engineer status in 1993.

Nick's career has taken him through senior roles with Haden Young, WSP, ACDP and Imtech MEICA before joining Crown House Technologies in 2017 and transferring to Laing O'Rourke in 2018.

As Technical Director of MEICA Systems and Engineering at Laing O'Rourke, Nick's team provides expertise across mechanical and electrical systems and passive fire. The multidisciplinary team includes chief engineers, technical managers, authorising engineers, fire engineers, lift engineers and digital specialists, supporting projects with technical and safety compliance as well as working with manufacturers on product innovation.

Throughout his career, Nick has been an active contributor to the wider building engineering and construction industry. He served as CIBSE President in 2015/16 and continues to contribute to the institution through a number of committees and as a member of the CIBSE Services Board. He also works with the Construction Products Association on product regulatory change and is the Construction Industry Council champion for Modern Methods of Construction.

Nick plays an active role within BESA, sitting on BESA Council as a Trustee and serving as a member of the Technical Committee. He also chairs BESA's Building Safety Act Group, helping the Association and its members respond to the changing regulatory landscape and the increasing focus on competence, compliance and building safety.

In recognition of his contribution to engineering, Nick was granted the Freedom of the City of London through the Worshipful Company of Engineers in 2014.

Outside work, Nick enjoys anything that involves tools, fixing or making things work, from DIY to classic cars. He also enjoys walking in the Berkshire countryside and is a keen Formula 1 fan. With four children and five grandchildren, his practical skills are regularly put to use well beyond his own home.

Paul began his career with an interest in electronics, studying for City & Guilds qualifications at night college before joining a trainee project manager scheme at Hills Electrical in the late 1990s. This marked the beginning of a varied career that has seen him work as an electrician and test engineer before progressing through electrical safety, project engineering, project leadership, design management, modern methods of construction and central technical leadership.

Throughout his career, Paul has worked across a wide range of sectors and major projects. He is particularly proud of his involvement in healthcare developments, the redevelopment of Liverpool city centre, now Liverpool ONE, and the Francis Crick Institute in London.

In his current role as Group Technical Director at Dalkia Engineering, Paul has been responsible for developing the technical strategy for a major UK MEP contracting business. His remit has included BIM, information management, design management, central engineering, commissioning, quality and sustainability, alongside supporting the integration of the former Imtech and SPIE businesses with a strong focus on compliance.

Developing people has also been a significant part of Paul's career. Having benefited from the support of mentors himself, he is passionate about creating similar opportunities for others. He has led professional development programmes supporting around 60 colleagues towards industry recognised qualifications and professional accreditation, and has helped develop young people through cadet and apprenticeship programmes. He is also establishing pathways at Dalkia to help colleagues work towards professional status through mentoring, support groups and engagement with industry bodies.

Paul's involvement with BESA began through the Association's Offsite Group. He now chairs the BESA Technical Committee and is an active member of the Building Safety Act Group. He sees his role within BESA as an opportunity to give back to an industry that has shaped his career, share his experience and help support its future direction.

Paul holds an MSc in Senior Leadership and has been recognised during his career with the Ann Noblett Engineering Award for Professional Engineer of the Year.

Outside work, Paul enjoys keeping active through the gym, running and golf, as well as DJing. He is married with two young children.