NBS,
the leading specification platform for the construction industry, recently
celebrated a highly successful year since major investment of £31.8m was
injected into the business by LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking
Group.
The
business is now on track to acquire its 1,000th
customer onto its flagship SaaS product, NBS Chorus.
Described
as a “game-changer” by industry sources and launched in January this year, NBS
Chorus is a cloud-based platform for construction specification, used by
architects, engineers and designers to rapidly create detailed specifications
for construction projects; helping them work much faster and ensuring they are
compliant with the latest standards and regulations.
Since
January, Newcastle based NBS has set about moving its 4,000-strong customer
base of UK construction practices onto Chorus and has seen strong take up
across the board, as the industry finally begins to recognise the importance of
digitisation through a cloud-enabled, integrated construction workflow.
NBS
has also ramped up its global operations, with the establishment of bases in
Australia and Canada, allowing it to expand the global capabilities of Chorus.
With
powerful collaboration features, NBS Chorus opens up new opportunities for
construction product manufacturers to work more closely with specifiers to
ensure that information about their products is made available in a structured
format to the people that need it within the NBS platform. NBS is investing
heavily in its manufacturer operations to ensure that specifiers and
manufacturers can work effectively together as part of the process.
A
large construction specification can run to hundreds of thousands of pieces of
information and, along with a 3D model, is an essential data set required as
part of the BIM process required by UK government. NBS Chorus allows the whole
project team to collaborate together on the specification, regardless of
location, and integrate with the 3D model to ensure that everything remains
in-sync up to date and accurate, a feature which customers describe as
“invaluable”.
Traceability
of construction information has come into sharp focus in recent years. In the
future, government will require the construction industry to use digital
technology to improve transparency of information and decision making, and NBS
believes that its Chorus platform can become a key part of the so called
‘Golden thread’ of information – which will allow decisions to be tracked
throughout a construction project, and ensure there is clear
accountability.
Commenting
on the achievements NBS has made since the deal, Richard Waterhouse said “The
last 12 months have been hugely exciting as we have set about delivering the
strategy and plans agreed with LDC on board as a partner.
“We’re
delighted with the uptake we’ve seen for NBS Chorus, which proves that the
construction industry is ready for the adoption of cloud technology. With the
further investment in our people, new international operations, and strong
partnerships in place, we’re in a fantastic position for further growth across
all our markets.”
A
number of key appointments have been made both in the UK and internationally,
together with an increased focus on values, culture and people across the
organisation as it moves to become a complete SaaS operation.
Growth
has been supported through the announcement of a number of partnerships with
key industry players in the construction technology space – these include
Autodesk, Graphisoft and Viewpoint (Trimble), as well as SolidCAD in Canada.
NBS also continues to enjoy its successful long-term partnership and joint
venture with IHS Markit, the global information provider.
LDC
invested £31.8m into NBS in 2018 for a significant minority shareholding, while
previous owner RIBA, retained 42.5% ownership.
