Find Your
23 Jun 2026
NMBS has built on its commitment to being a catalyst in the success of the UK’s builders’ merchant sector.
Connecting merchants and suppliers across building materials, timber, roofing, hardware, plumbing, heating, plastics, and engineering and industrial sectors, NMBS supports its members in driving commercial growth while helping them trade smarter through trusted financial, digital and data platforms.
This year’s biennial event took place from 11th to 14th June 2026 at the Meliá Villaitana luxury resort in Alicante, Spain, with Makita as headline sponsor.
It brought together over 400 delegates from over 150 companies involved in supplying building, timber, roofing, hardware, plumbing, heating, plastics, engineering and industrial products and materials.
The theme for the conference was ‘Beyond the Expected’ – alluding to the event’s focus on equipping attendees with the knowledge to achieve exceptional performance in a range of important areas.
Day one. A chance to mix business with pleasure
To ease those attending the conference into a packed itinerary, the arrival day offered delegates the opportunity to take part in a number of social activities sponsored by Polypipe, Knauf Insulation and Portwest.
These activities included a tour of the old town of nearby Altea, wine tasting and the chance to play a round of golf on one of the two courses at the resort designed by Jack Nicklaus.
In the evening, delegates were able to network over welcome drinks, sponsored by Marsh Industries, and a buffet dinner sponsored by Toolbank and Stanley Black & Decker.
Day two. Expert speakers. Expert insight.
Day Two saw the business-focused agenda of the NMBS 2026 All-Industry Conference begin in earnest.
The event was opened by conference host, Jake Humphrey whose appearance was sponsored by VELUX.
Jake is a leading broadcaster who has presented various programmes on the BBC focused on elite sport. This includes Match of the Day and coverage of the Olympics and the UEFA European Football Championship (the Euros).
Jake was joined by Professor Damian Hughes. A respected sports psychologist, Damian is also Jake’s co-host on The High Performance Podcast – a chart-topping podcast and app offering a glimpse into the lives of high achieving, successful individuals.
NMBS CEO, Kevin Williams then welcomed delegates before the first keynote speech of the conference was delivered by Ken Hughes – one of the world’s foremost experts on consumer behaviour and customer experience.
In a world where AI is commoditising many aspects of customer service, Ken spoke about the need to go ‘Beyond the Expected’ to create meaningful and lasting customer connections.
In particular, he explained how businesses must evolve to serve seven coexisting consumer generations, from traditionalists to Gen Beta, and shift to a customer-centric ‘Blue Dot’ model where services revolve around the individual.
Ken was followed by NMBS CEO, Kevin Williams and NMBS Commercial Director, Andy Hextall. They spoke to delegates about NMBS’ latest developments and achievements, and outlined how the business continues to play a vital role in powering the success of merchants and their suppliers.
Delegates were then given a comprehensive analysis of the UK economy and its direct impact on construction by Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association.
He explained how continued volatility around the world is set to cause sluggish economic growth in the UK and a looming spike in inflation which will contribute to an overall decline in construction work.
To navigate uncertainty and maximise the areas of opportunity that do exist, Noble advised delegates to diversify risks and to target resilient subsectors.
The next session was a panel debate featuring Kevin Williams, CEO of NMBS, Jen Cassidy, CEO of the Bristan Group, James Norton, Group Managing Director of Frank Key Group Limited, and David Young, CEO of the Bradford Group.
The discussion centred on the importance of high-performance leadership as the use of AI grows, which in turn can create a sense of uncertainty and anxiety amongst teams.
Jen Cassidy then offered an update on the work of the Construction Inclusion Coalition. Involving over forty merchants and suppliers, this coalition is committed to making the merchanting sector more inclusive.
Currently, only 15% of those employed across the sector are female, just 6% are from ethnic minorities and under 6% have a declared disability.
Jen offered an insight into the benefits of both inclusivity and the coalition to both employers and employees alike before encouraging more businesses to become members.
Jen was followed by Jonathan Bein Ph.D. who has worked with over one hundred businesses to apply advanced analytics and AI to improve customer experience, define value proposition, estimate sales potential and create digital strategy.
Jonathan spoke to delegates about the ‘State of AI in Distribution’. He outlined the evolution and different types of AI as well as the business case for adopting this technology in areas as diverse as customer service, warehousing, accounts receivable and demand forecasting.
AI was also the focus of the next session delivered by Jack Hopkins.
Jack spoke about his journey from being an electrician to becoming the founder and CEO of Tradeaze – a nationwide, on‑demand delivery platform for builders’ merchants.
He explained how his business, which now has over 3,000 drivers, uses AI to help with driver onboarding, route optimisation and fleet management.
His core message was that embracing AI and technology can enable businesses to operate faster, more efficiently, and more profitably, enabling smaller, agile companies to compete with much larger competitors.
The penultimate speaker on day two was Stuart Barker who has extensive leadership experience gained in high-pressure, high-risk settings. During his career, he has served as an army officer, in the police and with the NCA (National Crime Agency).
Stuart focused on cybersecurity and the business-critical need for strong leadership during a cyber-attack. He presented a valuable four-part leadership model and used parallels with his military career to highlight the need for a battlefield mentality.
The final session of the day was delivered by Damian Hughes who gave a keynote speech sponsored by Marshalls. Damian spoke about how emotions shape behaviour and workplace performance.
He detailed how feeling seen, heard and appreciated encourages people to contribute towards a positive culture that maximises commercial results. He also offered practical guidance on how this can be achieved.
After the day’s sessions were brought to a close by Jake Humphrey, delegates were then free to spend the rest of the afternoon at their leisure or networking in a more social setting.
Day three. A meeting of minds
The third and final day of the conference commenced with the ever popular ‘Meet the Merchant’ session sponsored by Siniat.
The session, which adopts a speed networking / round-robin style format, sees suppliers and existing and prospective merchant customers having a succession of short but highly productive meetings.
This was followed by a short address delivered by John Newcomb, CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation. He announced that next year’s BMF All-Industry Conference will be held for the first time in North Africa in the vibrant and historic city of Marrakech.
The rest of the day’s agenda entailed four further speakers addressing delegates.
In a joint session, Gareth Thomas, Managing Director of Data Yard and Gary Brookshaw, Product Director at GenetiQ Software spoke about Data Yard and its exciting potential for the assembled audience.
Built with the benefit of unique insight into the building materials industry, Data Yard is a platform which helps to streamline and standardize the exchange of product data making this information more accessible, consistent and reliable.
Next came motivational speaker and business expert, Alison Edger MBE. In a keynote speech sponsored by Draper Tools, Alison offered valuable advice on how to ‘Go beyond the Expected’ by fostering intrapreneurship.
This concept entails giving employees autonomy and a sense of ownership so that they think like entrepreneurs and drive innovation at every level of an organisation. Alison drew on real world examples from brands like Apple and EasyJet to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes then delivered a session on Inside High Performance: Lessons from the World’s Best Leaders. This shared some of the enormous subject matter expertise they have gained hosting the High Performance Podcast, which has seen them interview more than four hundred high-profile leaders over a seven-year period.
Using anecdotes from guests like American businessman, author and former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss and legendary England rugby player, Jonny Wilkinson, they discussed the importance of being a positive influence, of practicing empathy to build trust, and of understanding the true cost of relentless ambition.
Jake and Damian followed their session with an interview of Stuart Barker – the speaker from day two. They helped delegates to explore the valuable leadership lessons Stuart has learnt leading teams in the military and law enforcement.
In the afternoon, a number of activities were on offer, again sponsored by Polypipe, Knauf Insulation and Portwest. This included kayaking tours of the nearby coastline and caves as well as a trip to the scenic mountaintop village of Guadalest.
In the evening, delegates were able to wrap up their time in Alicante at a drinks reception, sponsored by KOKI Group, followed by a Gala Dinner sponsored by the Keystone Group.
After dinner, guests were treated to an impressive display of traditional Spanish flamenco dancing. This entertainment, which was sponsored by ForgeFix, concluded the NMBS’ 2026 All-Industry Conference in style.
Thank you to the conference sponsors
As ever, the success of this year’s All-Industry Conference was highly reliant on the generous support of a number of businesses who share NMBS’ commitment to the long-term success of the UK’s building and engineering sectors.
On behalf of everyone who attended the event, NMBS is keen to thank these sponsors which included:
Main Sponsor:
Makita
Key sponsors:
Draper, Siniat, ForgeFix, Keystone Lintels, Knauf Insulation, Koki Holdings (HiKOKI), K Rend, Marsh Industries, Marshalls, Polypipe, Portwest, DEWALT, Toolbank & VELUX
Platinum Sponsors
Holcim, Brett Martin, British Gypsum, ECI, Etex, Fakro, Forterra, Garador, GenetiQ, Global Landscaping, H+H, Heidelberg Materials, IKO, Kilsaran, Knauf, Makita, Mannok, Monument Tools, Nicholls & Clarke, Owlett-Jaton, Pavestone, SDR, Soprema, Tarmac, YBS Insulation, The Pallet Loop & Worcester Bosch
Gold Sponsors
ACO, ADEY, ArtificialGrass.com, Bostik, Catnic, CT1, EazyStock, Experlogix, Fernco, Ibstock, Isover, Keylite, Klipboard, Long Rake Spar, Okarno, Open ECX, Opus Safety, OX Tools, ROCKWOOL, SIG, Stirling Warrington, Talasey, Timco, Unilin, VIPSeal, Wavin & Wienerberger