VIEW FROM THE TOP
STRONGER TOGETHER
Nearly a year into his role as NBG Non-Executive Chair, Stephen Harrison discusses the shifting builders’ merchant landscape and why genuine commitment is the key to long-term success.
W
hen Stephen Harrison stepped into the NBG Non-Executive Chair role vacated by David Szymanski last year, he was
already familiar with NBG from his time as Supplier to the buying group.
For Harrison, the role didn’t just fit his past experience; it also opened a new chapter in an industry he knows well, but from a fresh vantage point.
“Building materials is a sector I know,” Harrison explains. “I’m doing some things outside the sector now as well as some things within it, but I’d never worked directly with builders’ merchants before. That’s partly what attracted me to NBG.”
Equally appealing was the nature of the organisation itself. “It’s not another corporate entity,” he says. “NBG is made up of individual, often family-owned businesses collaborating together. That’s quite different to large PLCs, and that really appealed to me.” The result was a chance to bring the strategic, financial and operational experience gained from running large organisations into a forum driven by partnership, shared interests and collective decision-making.
“It’s actually a better fit than I expected,” he adds. “They’re a great bunch, and it’s a really well-run organisation.”
Harrison says he had always perceived NBG as well organised and effective. But the reality, witnessed up close, has impressed him further. “The collaboration between Partners is fantastic,” he says. “Everyone is focused on
January 2026
their own business, of course, but that ‘stronger together’ theme they talk about? They really live and breathe it.”
Harrison believes he brings a useful dimension, not just having led major manufacturing businesses but also as someone used to the economics of the wider construction sector. “I can bring perspective,” he says. “I understand how the construction supply chain works, so I can share what I’ve learnt over the years.”
Much of Harrison’s first year has involved helping bring the new strategic partnership with IBC Ltd to fruition. “That direction was already being discussed before I joined,” he explains. “My role is not to dictate direction. NBG isn’t a company, it’s a group.” That distinction matters. In a typical PLC, the Chair represents external shareholders and is expected to steer long-term direction. In NBG, the ‘shareholders’ are in the room. “My role is to work alongside the Board Members elected by the Partners,” Harrison says. “It’s collaborative. And the Partners are a very sensible bunch; there’s always good debate, good discussion and it’s very open.” He believes NBG’s strengths are clear. “It’s welcoming, extremely well run and supported by a strong management team at its centre,” he says. “And the Partners are committed to each other and to the deals.”
As a former manufacturer, Harrison has seen buying groups from the other side of the table. “The real value of a buying group is in the volume and commitment it brings to Suppliers,” he explains. “And the future of buying groups is all about commitment, sticking to it, working together, and stability.” This is something he believes NBG excels at. “Compliance is not driven by fear or penalty. It’s cultural,” he says. “Partners genuinely buy into the ethos. Everyone accepts that the deal is the deal for everyone. No one argues that they should get a special deal because they
are bigger than their neighbours. That’s a big strength of the group.”
He adds that commitment isn’t just about spend; it’s also about time. “Partners put significant time into negotiating and securing the best deals,” he explains. “If someone spends hours working on the best roof tile deal, they know every other category lead is doing the same. People with different strengths contribute for the greater good of the partnership. The whole really is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Harrison has a clear perspective on the wider market. “In my view, there is overcapacity in builders’ merchanting,” he says. Branch networks continue to expand, while new models of distribution and online supply are entering the market. Combined with a flat construction sector, the pressure is undeniable. “The businesses that will win out are the well-funded, well-run independents with very strong customer relationships,” he says. “Buying well matters, but it’s way more than that.”
At present, these strong independents are outperforming the market, and he believes that trend may continue. Yet he also thinks that greater shifts may come not from businesses, but from customers themselves.
“If we roll forward five or 10 years, we’ll see a generational change,” he says. “Younger builders are used to doing everything on a smartphone. They won’t always get up at 7am to drive to the local merchant - they’ll place orders online the night before.”
Despite technological shifts, he sees a long- term place for physical branches, not just as distribution points, but also as community hubs. “Small builders and tradespeople operate as a network,” he explains. “They recommend each other. They share knowledge. And the builders’ merchant is where that comes together.” There’s a human dimension too. “If you’re working alone or in a small team, sometimes the merchant is your only social interaction during the day,” he says. “It offers a bit of community, and people need that.” Harrison says one message is becoming clearer with every day. “One of the key things about NBG is the strength of its community,” he says. “The stability, the commitment, the genuine benefits of partnership – they’re real. They’re lived every day.”
In a sector grappling with change, uncertainty and shifting customer expectations, stability may be one of the most valuable assets of all, he says. “We are, I believe, as stable and as strong as any similar organisation in the industry. And it’s important we continue showing that to Partners, to Suppliers and to the wider market.”
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