Now contractor members have agreed to rename the trade body to better reflect the changing contracting environment and work carried out by firms.

Chief executive Blane Judd stressed that the re-branding to the Building & Engineering Services Association was just one element in a “re-positioning” exercise that would offer members with a wider range of services and provide a “natural home for all specialists within building and engineering services”.

He added: “It also acknowledges the increasing clients’ emphasis on an integrated, one-stop-shop approach to the procurement of building and engineering services, and satisfies their wish for a broader-based organisation that is able to respond to ever-changing requirements.”

HVCA president Bob Shelley explained that independent research carried out among members and their clients had revealed a widespread belief that the HVCA name no longer fully reflected the scope of services provided by association members, which is “now much broader than simply h&v”.

He said: “It is clear that clients do not fully recognise the ever-widening range of services our members provide – nor the increasing role they play inthe integration of engineering systems in today’s buildings, especially in relation to the growing trend towards renewable and environmental technologies.”