The organisation has also reported a dramatic change of fortunes in its finances, mainly as a result of a £3.5m gain from the sale of its former Soho Square headquarters in central London, according to newly released accounts.
As the BMF kicked off its 2013 Members’ Day at Whittlebury Hall, Silverstone on Wednesday, the organisation reported a 21% annual rise in overall membership, while supplier members have grown 15% since April. It said nine new members were timber specialists or had timber as a significant proportion of their business.
A major factor in the membership boost was the BMF’s recently announced group membership scheme with the National Buying Group (NBG), which involved all NBG partners becoming BMF members. Forty-two NBG partners had already been BMF members, with the remaining 39 joining as part of the deal in August.
“The NBG deal accounts for around 50% of the increase [in overall group membership],” a BMF spokesperson told TTJ.
A similar deal with the Independent Buying Consortium was struck in the summer.
The BMF and Timber Trade Federation last month announced a reciprocal membership deal, with both organisations offering 10% discounts to each other’s members for joining up.
Another factor boosting BMF numbers was a 25% slash in average membership rates. BMF managing director John Newcomb has made membership development his personal mission in order to strengthen the merchant’s voice within the wider construction industry and with legislative bodies.
Meanwhile, the BMF accounts for the 14.5 months ended March 31, 2013 show a surplus of £2.8m, compared to a deficit of £140,644 in the preceding 9.5 months ended January 2012.
The BMF opened a new headquarters in Coventry earlier this year.
