UK buying society for Independent Builders, Plumbers, Hardware, Timber and Engineering Merchants NMBS has appointed a new business development manager and a new Finance and Operations Director.
Wayne Steele (pictured left) has joined NMBS as its new business development manager for the south-west region. He will manage over 300 merchants in the south-west region, offering informed recommendations about new products, offering insights into broader market conditions, and highlighting opportunities across different areas.
He will also work closely with an internal business development executive based at NMBS’s head office to ensure regular communication and ongoing customer support is achieved with each merchant.
Steele joined NMBS from his role as national sales manager at Troy, which was the UK’s largest independent network and distributor of tools and maintenance supplies. In this role, he managed the sales team and ensured that the relationships between merchants and suppliers were as mutually beneficial as possible.
Dean Hayward, head of sales and marketing at NMBS, says, " The six-plus years that Wayne spent with Troy have allowed him to gain in-depth knowledge about the tool and maintenance sectors and fully understand the needs of independent merchants. Wayne will play a large part in our offer to support businesses that have been impacted by the news of Troy’s administration.”
Meanwhile, Richard Sharp (pictured right) will join NMBS as its new finance and operations director in May, succeeding Julie Langford, who will leave at the end of September after 17 years of service.
Sharp is joining NMBS from his role as finance director at Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions (OSS). In this role, Sharp was responsible for four businesses, supplying timber frame housing kits, roof trusses, panelised roofs and steel frame commercial structures. He played a key role in establishing the division, driving synergies between the businesses, implementing a common systems infrastructure and strategy formulation. He also led the successful integration of the Roofspace acquisition into Saint Gobain.
Prior to this, Richard has held senior financial and analyst roles with Reckitt Benckiser, Jewson, International Decorative Services and Graham Plumbers Merchant.
Recently, NMBS also announced that CEO Chris Hayward will step down from his current role in 2026.
