MERCHANT FOCUS: NU INDEPENDENT WHOLESALERS
Cox’s professional experience, but it has since diversified to cater for a wider range of building and related needs.
INDEPENDENT WITH FRIENDS
Oliver Stanley talks to one merchant about its journey from affiliate to full NMBS membership
I
n August 2026, plumbing, heating, electrical and bathroom merchant NU Independent Wholesalers became the first company to complete a new route to NMBS membership.
The merchant, founded in 2019 by gas engineer James Cox, began working with NMBS in 2024 on an affiliate basis, and has recently become a full member of the buying society.
Cox says: “My brother and I, gas engineers by trade, started the company after we saw a gap in the market locally. There was no one in the area who was an independent, we were about 24 miles away from anyone else. “We’ve got a City Plumbing and a Plumb Centre locally who are national merchants, and then after that you’ve got a good 45-minute drive to try and get to anywhere else. It was a good area for an independent business to set up.
“We met Paul Crossbrove from fellow 26
The benefits of independence As an independent merchant, NU Independent Wholesalers seeks to offer something unique, catering to the needs of its local customer base in ways that larger national merchants often can’t. As Cox says; “As an independent, our goal is to give our customers a lot more help than they would get from a national. It’s how we get people through the door. “Having come from the trades to then supply the trades, I like transparency. With some of the nationals, their price structure changes considerably all the time, whereas we’ve tried to keep consistent. Because we’ve kept true with price, and true to ourselves with what we’re doing, people come to us. “Because of this, we were already competing pretty well with our competitors, but now that we are going straight to the manufacturer thanks to being full members of NMBS, we’ve got the credit limit with them. The account has been easy to open, and it’s all worked really well.”
To help merchants improve cash flow, NMBS has a dedicated credit control and cash allocation team, which helps merchants by helping manage credit risks, cash allocation and ensuring payments are paid on time and recorded accurately.
By improving cash flow and refining financial practices, the NMBS credit control and cash allocations team helps members deal with financial challenges and improve their purchasing power.
independent Castle Plumbing, and he was also looking at bringing an independent to Minehead. In the end we thought, why can’t we do it? And the morning after that meeting, the building we moved into came on the market. It all seemed to fall into place.” Initially, the business focused on plumbing, heating and electrical products reflecting
NMBS membership Nu Independent Wholesalers first joined IPG, a buying group that helps independent plumbing, heating, and bathroom businesses. Cox explains: “When we were first finding out about buying groups, before joining the IBG, I just chanced my hand and asked the question about joining, and I think I was
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net October 2026
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
