We welcomed our first visitors in January 2007.
Fifteen years later, the National Self Build & Renovation Centre (NSBRC), remains the UK’s only permanent visitor centre designed specifically to meet the needs of individual self-builders, renovators and home improvers.
Originally conceived by BuildStore (who remain a founding exhibitor in the NSBRC) we have, since 2014, been owned and operated by ‘The Homebuilding Centre Limited’, an employee-owned business.
Our employees own the majority of the shares in the business – with the largest shareholder being our Employee Ownership Trust. This means we all have a responsibility for the business, and are genuinely passionate about the experience our visitors enjoy.
In 2017, we were named Wiltshire’s ‘Small Business of the Year’ and in the same year, we won a Build It Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Self Build’. To complete a hat trick of gongs in 2017, we were highly commended by the Employee Ownership Association in their ‘Rising Star of the Year’ category, having also been highly commended in the same category in 2015.
Our EO culture has given us a huge amount of resilience, which has certainly been put to the test during the last couple of years with the global pandemic. It was very challenging having our doors closed for over seven months between 23rd March ’20 and 11th April ’21. However, we not only survived the covid-crisis, but emerged stronger than ever before.
We regard ourselves as custodians of this fantastic resource and believe the NSBRC is the heart of a thriving sector. We are often the first destination for anyone self-commissioning a home, believe we have the very best manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers in the UK, on show here at the NSBRC. We are excited to help you discover these specialist businesses during your visit. Please do use your barcode scanner to request information from our exhibitors.
In 2022, we celebrated 15 years of the National Self Build & Renovation Centre and hosted an array of special online events - covering key topics for those looking to undertake a self build or renovation project - which are now available to view on demand here.
The National Self Build & Renovation Centre are proud to have received the Employee Ownership Association’s award for ‘Business Resilience', recognising our achievements during the covid-19 pandemic, having been voted as the winner from a short list of thirteen companies.
Businesses of all sizes were invited to submit a written story about how their focus on their people has supported employee health and wellbeing, helped the business adapt and delivered benefit for multiple stakeholders.
Thousands of votes were cast by the EO Community for their favourites this summer, as part of an EO Stories competition, before the final winners were announced during the EOA’s annual conference.
We'd like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for us!
You can view our short video case study below.
The online surgery below answers who should be considering employee ownership, why become employee owned (exploring Tax implications, Exit Strategies and long-term culture benefits) and how to become EO (exploring the key actions and milestones in a transition).
Featuring an introduction by the Employee Ownership Association, expert presentations from EO specialist advisor Capital for Colleagues, and engaging real-life business case studies - including the NSBRC - and concluding with a panel Q&A session - this surgery is designed to be an engaging, enjoyable and informative couple of hours.