The company was founded by a group of construction and architecture professionals, led by Ian Macpherson, who left
Bovis in 1990 hoping to bring in a more collaborative way of working in the traditionally combative construction industry. It prohibited its
subcontractors from falsely claiming staff were self-employed. During 1997, Mace beat Bovis to be appointed as the project and construction manager on
British Airways' Waterside headquarters at
Heathrow. Other early construction projects undertaken by the company included the
London Eye and
The Venetian. The firm engaged in
PFI projects and post
privatisation railway work. In 2009, Mace contracted to build
The Shard, the tallest building in London, at a fixed price. In 2021, it completed a
ferris wheel in
Dubai nearly twice as tall as the London Eye. In 2023, Mace's facilities management division was sold in a
management buyout. In July 2025
Goldman Sachs acquired a 75% share in Mace's £700m turnover consulting business and it was set to be spun out as a standalone operation with 5,200 global staff. The 2,000-stong construction business will be rebranded in 2026. The two businesses – Mace Construct and Mace Consult – were formally separated on 5 March 2026, and London-based branding agency Koto was hired to develop Mace Construct's new identity. ==Operations==