The dust has settled, the stands have been packed away, and the buzz from the UK’s “biggest Festival of Construction” still resonates throughout the industry as the exhibitors look to doing it all again in 2026 (more on that later). Just last week, on Wednesday, November 19th, and Thursday, November 20th, the Certifix were manning our own very first ever exhibition stand having shared one the previous year with one of our partners, AGS. Having minimal experience as an exhibitor, the team attacked the challenge with full gusto, and we’re proud to say it was a worthwhile experience.
What is London Build?
For those who weren't able to attend, this exhibition is the UK's leading and largest construction show, taking over the magnificent Olympia Grand and National Halls at the iconic London Olympia venue. It’s a massive, two-day industry powerhouse, known not just for serious business, but for its vibrant, festival atmosphere. We were strategically located at Stand J27, positioned perfectly between the two main halls. This prime spot gave us a front-row view of the entire industry supply chain - from the largest contractors to the most innovative architects — as they moved between the two main areas of the show.
What the show entails
This show represents the ultimate gathering of the UK built environment. Over 45,000 registered attendees were present, comprising every key professional group, including contractors, civil engineers, developers, local councils, architects, and house builders. It is a vital knowledge hub, featuring 900+ inspiring speakers across 17 CPD conference stages, where crucial topics like Fire Safety, Sustainability, AI & Digital, and Skyscrapers & Tall Buildings were discussed. Attendees had the opportunity to earn an impressive 300+ hours of CPD training and education.
Beyond the knowledge transfer, the event is designed to drive business. Key dedicated areas included Meet the Buyers, which connected suppliers directly with procurement teams from top contractors, and the Architect’s Hub, which showcased 3D models and plans for upcoming UK projects. As one of 700+ exhibitors filling the two halls, the sheer volume of services, products, and technological innovations on display is a sight to behold. Crucially, the show fosters a culture of inclusion, hosting the UK’s largest networking events for Women in Construction and Diversity in Construction, supported by an inclusive Ambassador Programme championing mental health and equity. This commitment, combined with the "Festival of Construction" element—featuring DJs, live music, and celebrity guests, ensures networking is both productive and genuinely enjoyable.
Our Stand
Whilst we had some experience of exhibiting, this being our own first stab at going it alone, we purposefully designed our stand to be adaptable so that if the concept we had in mind didn’t actually work on the day for one reason or another, we could switch the design up and change the content around to suit what space we had available. We had anticipated that there could be unforeseen challenges that could crop up so didn’t want to be stuck with a design which would have no flexibility.
Our initial plan was to have a wall showing a selection of our main product lines to give a flavour of our inventory, a wall featuring our services, another with case studies, a TV wall and the main wall with a full wall build up and roofing section demonstrating some of the innovative solutions we now have in that space. On inspecting the frame of the stand on the day of the build and the inability to brace effectively due to pillars and cross-beams of the beautiful structure we were housed in, it was obvious that there was too much risk when you added on the weight of the real-life display (a special thanks to the guys at FMJ – you know who you are) we had made. Unperturbed, in time-honoured Certifix fashion, we re-jigged the stand design and fashioned what you see in the photos below. Whilst it wasn’t what we originally envisioned; it still had the bulk of the content and got the message across to visitors. In fact, we overheard several people stating that they would crib the ideas of the product boards for their own in-house displays and any exhibiting they were going to do. We learned a lot from this part of the process and will definitely bring that knowledge into future builds.
Our stand experience
Completing the stand just on time, including a display cabinet rammed with some of our key products and a selection of fire barrier samples from our friends at AIM, we welcomed the masses of visitors once the doors opened in the main hall. Right from the off, our stand drew plenty of attention, and that pretty much continued for the duration of the whole event. We met some fantastic people. It was superb to put some faces to a few of our existing customers and partners who we have only spoken to on the phone or via email. We also me plenty of potential new customers and suppliers we’d love to work with, so in that respect, the show after all the hard work putting the stand together was definitely worthwhile. Our bags of merchandise appeared to be well received, as did our team’s technical expertise and advice – however this was stretched at times due to the sheer influx of people wanting to ask questions. It did feel busier than the previous year and whilst we did get to speak to everyone, we apologise if it took longer than you anticipated. We have already made a note to try and avoid this in next time by considering introducing a system whereby you can book a 10-15 min slot to meet with one of the team. It’s something we will certainly have a good think about if that could work. Like last year, it was pleasing to see so many students at the exhibition showing a real interest and genuine willingness to learn. It makes you proud knowing that there is still a keen interest in construction from the architects, specifiers, buyers, etc of the future and our solutions are helping them to understand the practicality outside of the theory in the classroom. College and university representatives were keen to view our wall build and get hands on to see if they can replicate in their own practical spaces.
The show in general
The organisers always know how to put on a “show” that’s for sure - interspersed with all the exhibitors you had plenty of entertainment to keep you on your toes. There were singers, stilt walkers, robotic people, steam punk guys on electric unicycles, Abbaesque singers (I’m still waiting for the rendition of Wonderwall you promised this Manc ladies!!), DJs and celebrities. We had The Beast off the Chase visit our stand as you can see below; A lovely fella and aptly named – he’s gigantic. Saw him hosting a pub quiz at one of the bars later in the day. Hopefully he was just comparing and not compèring, as he’d be cleaning up. I also saw Land Rover on a stand with their stunning Defender range, a demonstration by a robotic firm which had humanoid type robots and ai dogs on show which was surreal – a bit like the movie iRobot if you’ve seen that. As you can see, it’s not your average construction fair, it’s a real experience, one that we enjoyed not only being part of but visiting in general. If you’ve not been, it’s worth a visit – it’s FREE, so there’s always that.
Next year
We are thrilled to announce we will be taking part in London Build 2026 which will no longer be at London Olympia but at Excel instead – another fantastic venue. Having seen the floor, a huge portion of the allotted stands have already been snapped up so it’s going to be another spectacular event which is pleasing to see and testament to the success of this year. Our plans for the stand? We will keep that under wraps for now but make no mistake, like the company we are, we are continually evolving so we will make sure that this version will be another leap ahead in what we produced this year. We’ve made a note of what worked and where improvements could be made and whilst we might not have robots or AI dogs, we might just have a few surprises in store for you should you come and pay us a visit. We’ll post more about that leading up to the event which is on the 25th to the 26th of November – get it in your diary.
That’s for next year, in the meantime, have a look at this years show to see what you missed out on or maybe spot yourself if you came along.
