NMBS has celebrated the success of its Dinner Dance, which brought together more than 1,200 people for a night of great entertainment, fine dining, and networking.
On 27 October 2018, the UK’s largest buying society for independent builders’, timber, hardware, and plumbing and heating merchants, held ‘one of the biggest and best social events in the merchant calendar’.
The 55th annual Dinner Dance took place in the Great Room at London’s exclusive Grosvenor House Hotel, in Mayfair. Guests came from across NMBS’ merchant membership, joining with representatives from building industry suppliers.
The evening began with a champagne drinks reception, sponsored by Bradstone & Makita. Once seated for dinner, guests were asked to burst IG-sponsored balloons tied to the backs of their chairs. One lucky winner won a weekend break for two at a top-class London hotel, complete with theatre tickets.
There were also Scratchcards from Tarmac, with three winners each receiving a new Amazon Echo Spot. The prizes didn’t end there, however, as Artex had sponsored lottery tickets to enter every guest into the evening’s national Lotto draw. Table gifts were sponsored by Richard Burbidge and British Gypsum.
Speaking at the event, NMBS Chairman, Jeremy Miller, gave a brief update on the society, which has reportedly enjoyed a very strong year to-date.
He said: “NMBS has never been in better shape. We are delivering on our KPIs for 2018, by operating well within our budgeted costs, and we are projecting turnover this year of approximately £1.78bn, which will be up 5% on last year.
“This evening is about having fun and celebrating the success that comes from independents working together to achieve something better, not just for themselves, but also for their supplier partners.
“This good performance demonstrates that independents continue to grow their market share during uncertain and difficult times. We are extremely grateful to everyone in this room for their support and recognition that we can all gain by working together.”
After dinner, NMBS Managing Director, Chris Hayward, revealed the winner of the prize draw, sponsored by Makita, with one guest receiving £1,000-worth of Apple products. As always, guests gave generously through draw entries and table donations, raising a staggering £13,000 to be divided between the Rainy Day Trust and CRASH.
Guests were then treated to a spectacular display of Latin and Ballroom dancing from former Strictly Come Dancing stars James and Ola Jordan, who wowed the audience with an incredible jive and rhumba.
The guests then filled the dancefloor to a wide variety of musical acts. First, to the stage was house band FullyFunktional, before global superstar Pixie Lott entertained guests with a number of her pop hits.
Then the Jersey Gals performed a number of classic hits, before FullyFunktional returned to help guests dance the night away.
Commenting on the event, Chris thanked the entire NMBS team and everyone involved for their hard work in organising the Dinner Dance. He said: “The annual Dinner Dance is a fantastic way for us to thank our members and suppliers for all their support throughout the year, and to bring people together from across the industry to network in a relaxed, social atmosphere.
“It’s great to see so many people together in one place, celebrating the successes of the independent merchant sector, and of the wider industry as a whole. I’d also like to thank all our guests and sponsors for their support in what was an incredible evening.”
For more details, visit www.nmbs.co.uk.
