Mark Reynolds wants to make one thing clear: Mace Construct is not for sale. Like others, he has heard the rumours that several firms – trade buyers and private equity – are linked with a move.

But Reynolds, who has been at the business 30 years, wants to be very clear on this point. “Mace is not up for sale. I have never said to any CEO [of a rival]: Would you be interested in buying Mace?”

The Mace in question is, of course, Mace Construct. This name, for the construction business at least, is set to disappear and replaced with a new marque, most likely by the start of next year.

Reynolds appears to be in a combative mood, impatient with the speculation. “We are concentrating on our business,” he says. “Mace is categorically not up for sale.”

The rumours keep surfacing and therefore so do the questions but Reynolds, who has been executive chairman since the beginning of last year and is the firm’s biggest shareholder, has had enough and shoots back: “Don’t keep asking the same question.”

He is here to talk about what comes next, following the completion earlier this year of the deal to sell a majority stake in Mace Consult to the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs.