The Natural Stone Show at ExCel London in March was the largest and best supported yet. Figures independently verified by audit company ABC show visitor numbers up 7% at a record 5,359 after de-duplication (ie individuals who leave and return are only counted once).
And what visitors!

• 14 of the top 20 UK architectural practices in the AJ100 list published in May. They included BDP, Foster+Partners, Hamiltons, Benoy, Broadway Malyan, HOK, Sheppard Robson, Chapman Taylor and Allies & Morrison.
• 10 of Building magazine’s top 20 UK contractors and housebuilders. Among them were Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Laing O’Rourke, Kier, Bovis Lend Lease, Skanska Construction and HBG UK.
• Five of the top 10 UK building consultancies – Atkins, Arup, Jacobs, WSP Group and Faber Maunsell
• Some of the UK’s most prestigious interior design agencies – Bennett Interior Design, Candy & Candy, B3 Designers, KSS Design Group and Conran & Partners, to name but a few.
• Buyers from top retailers including the John Lewis Group, Topps Tiles, B&Q and Magnet.
• Key decision makers from the stone industry including 1,022 stonemasons/fabricators, 610 stone contractors/fixers and 1,380 wholesalers, importers, retailers and quarry operators.

They were drawn to ExCeL by the biggest UK stone show ever staged, with around 250 direct exhibitors in almost 10,000m² of exhibition space. That makes the Stone Show the 37th largest trade exhibition in the country, reflecting the increasing popularity of stone in the UK and Ireland.
The figures emphasise what a force the stone industry in the British Isles has become within construction, hard landscaping, interior design and conservation.
And you can be part of this success. From this month (September) bookings are being accepted for the 9th Natural Stone Show, being held in 2010 at the top exhibition centre of ExCeL London on 16-18 March.
For details call Richard Bradbury on Tel: +44 (0)115 945 3889 or Anna Gibiino on Tel: +44 (0)115 945 3897.