A slew of even better than anticipated economic indicators is good news for the Natural Stone Show taking place in London at the ExCeL exhibition centre 25-27 April next year.
The Show is set to be another sell-out success with no fewer than 30 companies having confirmed their attendance at the show in the past six weeks alone.
Enthusiasm for the exhibition comes on the back of the Bank of England having revised upwards its forecast for economic growth in the UK this year. It now says it expects the UK economy to grow by 2.2%, up from its previous forecast of 2%, with the IMF predicting Britain will once again be this year's fastest growing G7 economy.
The UK market is already one of the biggest for many stone machinery manufacturers, and around 75% of the stone used in the UK is imported. Most of the UK stone producers do not export much of their materials, so the UK market is also important for them – and there is no more cost effective way of getting a message over to the UK stone processing industry and its customers, specifiers and designers than is offered by the three days of the Natural Stone Show.
The UK service sector moved up a gear in October, according to the closely watched survey of purchasing managers. The Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 54.5 last month from 52.6 in September to its the highest level since January. But growth was not confined to the service sector, with UK construction companies also enjoying a rise in business activity in October, largely thanks to another big increase in residential work.
Markets analyst Neil Wilson said: "The market is holding up very well since the Brexit vote. Residential housing activity was the key driver and this confirms that in terms of the fundamentals of the UK housing market, nothing has really changed."
All of which tallies with buoyant exhibitor sales at the Natural Stone Show taking place in London at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre 25-27 April next year.
Show Director Richard Bradbury says: "We sold out by the New Year and had to add an extra aisle, which fortunately ExCeL exhibition centre was able to accommodate. Our focus now is on the visitor marketing campaign that kicks off at the end of this month (November) with registration opening.
"Our Conference programme, which includes an always popular CPD day specifically for architects, engineers and designers, is now on the Natural Stone Show website. We also look forward to sharing a range of new features with you, including the trainee stonemason of the year competition that will take place live at the show."
You can register to attend the Show here.
