The annual lunch and award ceremony have been moved to 14 May 2021 after Government guidelines meant it was impossible to host up to 800 attendees.

The 19th Builders’ Merchants Awards, which brings builders’ merchants and suppliers together to celebrate achievement and excellence across the sector, was due to take place on 20 November 2020 at the Park Plaza in Westminster.

The postponement means that the nomination deadline to enter any of the 22 award categories has now been extended to the 20 November 2020.   

Lucyanne Matthews, Associate Publisher at Builders’ Merchants News, said: “With up to 800 people attending the Awards the Government guidelines have made it impossible to have such a large gathering, so with a heavy heart the difficult decision had to be made to move the Awards to 2021 to ensure the safety of everyone in our industry. 

“We’ve extended the entry deadline so that companies have longer to work on their entries. This I know is good news to many businesses as they juggle furlough and staff shortages. We are looking forward to all being together in London on May 14 to celebrate a tough year and to firmly focus on the future of our vibrant industry.”

The 2020 awards will see the launch of two new categories: Diversity in Merchanting and a Sustainability Award, issues that have been the topic of many a conversation across the merchant sector.

The builders’ merchants’ awards have also been restructurued so that national and independent merchants are no longer treated separately to reflects the importance of both to the merchant sector. 

Due to the change in date of the 2020 Awards, the 20th Anniversary Awards that would have usually been held in November 2021  will now be held on the 4th February 2022, and then the 2022 Awards will be back at their usual time of year in November 2022.

If you have any questions about how to submit an entry, the nomination process, how to book a table or any other element of the Builders’ Merchants Awards, please go to www.merchants-awards.co.uk, where you can also find the contact details.