NBC appoints new member directors and confirms revenue growth

National Buying Consortium (NBC) has announced that Kevin Jopson, co-owner and managing director of Northern Retail Group, and Joe Marlow, managing director of Spectrum Foodservice, are becoming member directors of the group.

David Lunt: ‘We fully expect to beat the 2025 budget.’

The announcement was made at the organisation’s recent AGM and the move followed the resignations of David Longfellow and James Granville as member directors.

NBC’s managing director David Lunt said: “This is an important role for the member shareholders to ensure that the members needs are both recognised and met – not always an easy task. A further position is currently being recruited for within the member shareholders.”

Jopson said: “I have always been impressed with the way in which the group have pulled together a proposition that truly supports both members and suppliers and I am looking forward to making my own contribution in the role.”

Marlow said: “NBC has enabled me to develop my own business into the foodservice operation that it is today – without it the challenges of getting access to brands that my own customers require would have been incredibly difficult.”

Also at the AGM, Lunt presented an overview of the group’s more recent financial performance and shared the outlook: “Both 2024 and 2025 have been a bit of a rollercoaster for the industry as we continue to deal with economic challenges and further consolidation throughout the supply chain. Despite this, the NBC group of companies have continued to show revenue growth and we fully expect to beat the 2025 budget.

“We continue to deliver upon our basic principles – providing members with access to great brands, in realistic quantities, and at great net prices. We also continue to deliver members’ terms through our group agreements with our supplier partners – 100% on time and in full.”

He added: “2026 provides the usual challenges – supply chain consolidation, supplier route-to-market changes – and the group, specifically through the integrated approach of NBC buying group and NDN – its wholly owned warehousing and logistics service – is well placed to support both its members and its supplier partners as a safe and reliable route to market.”