New BESA president calls for an end to retentions
NG Bailey’s Anna Shephard links fairer payment practices with attracting future talent
7 October 2026
New Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) president Anna Shephard has backed legislation to outlaw retentions, saying she hopes her 2026/27 presidential year will coincide with an end to the practice. In her inaugural speech, she linked fairer commercial conditions with making building engineering more attractive to future generations.
Speaking at BESA’s annual President’s Lunch at London’s Oxo Tower, Shephard drew on her experience of running a family business and dealing with retentions and other unfair payment practices. Those experiences had encouraged her to become more closely involved with the association, where she chaired its Legal and 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,” she said. “It will also be another source of pride if my presidential year coincides with long-awaited legislation that finally outlaws retentions.”
Shephard thanked those who had worked on BESA’s campaign over several decades. Her comments expressed an ambition for her presidential year, rather than announcing a confirmed timetable for legislation.
“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,” she said.
Recruitment will be another priority during her term. Alongside encouraging the existing workforce to take pride in its contribution to the built environment, Shephard wants a renewed effort to bring the next generation into building engineering.
Shephard is operations director at OSM Ventilation, an NG Bailey Group company, and previously ran family-owned ductwork specialist E&S Ventilation. She said that experience had made her acutely aware of the commercial challenges facing businesses of all sizes.
Her speech placed those challenges alongside opportunities in technically demanding sectors. “We are heavily involved in some of the fastest-growing sectors, including digital infrastructure, healthcare, life sciences and the energy transition. This creates a positive outlook for the future,” she said.
Referring to BESA’s newly published Top 30 M&E Contractors Report, Shephard highlighted innovation, collaboration and rising standards in the face of difficult economic conditions. She identified competence, compliance, culture change and better behaviours as foundations for business success.
The connection she drew between payment practices and recruitment gives BESA’s campaign a wider purpose. In her view, improving the commercial conditions in which building engineering businesses operate is also part of building an industry that future entrants will want to join.
