National Buying Group (NBG) partners, leading independent merchants throughout the UK, are continuing to report strong trading conditions, as evidenced by a number of new branch openings across the group. The latest launches are a new Cirencester branch for Building & Plumbing Supplies (BPS) and a new branch for County Building Supplies in Cheltenham.

BPS: BPS’s new Cirencester branch brings the company’s network of general merchant branches to six and follows hard on the heels of the recent opening at Southam last year. The Cirencester outlet stocks a wide range of building and plumbing supplies, timber, ironmongery and landscaping supplies. Established in 1934 and still family owned and run, BPS also operates specialist ironmongery and landscaping businesses at its Leamington HQ. “We’ve been looking to open a branch in Cirencester for some time,” says BPS’s John Dibble. “The town fits well with our customer profile, and geographically it gives us an excellent base for tackling the Cotswolds. The town had long been crying out for a merchant that offers top service and we believe we can offer that.”

County Building Supplies: County operates a network of ten branches in the southern Midlands and Monmouth including garden machinery, building, plumbing, and kitchen businesses. The new branch, opening shortly, will be a plumbing and heating outlet with an on-site kitchen and bathroom showroom, complementing County’s existing general building branch in Cheltenham. “The new branch in Cheltenham is part of our larger growth strategy which includes a sizeable pro-active sales force, a focus on green building and a strengthened management team,” says County MD Martyn Rees. “Cheltenham is an excellent position for this type of business and, with a very strong manager in place, I’m confident that the new branch will flourish.”

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