About Sourcing City

Sourcing City is the trade platform for the UK and Ireland promotional merchandise industry. Since 2002 it has built the tools professional distributors and suppliers use every day: trade sourcing, live supplier data, business software, distributor websites, a trade exhibition and market intelligence. Distributors using Sourcing City account for 49.6% of UK and Ireland promotional merchandise spend.

One connected platform

Over more than two decades Sourcing City has built a set of services designed for the professional trade: trade sourcing, live supplier data, business management software, distributor websites, a trade exhibition, industry news and market intelligence.

Sourcing City operates from The Hub in Farnborough, Hampshire, and is a member of the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA). Its services are built to connect: Sourcing City Platinum, Dynamic Highway and Promotional Office share one flow of product and supplier data, so a distributor can find a product, see the supplier's live price and stock, quote it and order it without rekeying.

See all our brands and services

Dynamic Highway: the industry's data infrastructure

In February 2025 Sourcing City launched Dynamic Highway, the industry's first data sharing platform. A supplier sends one feed of products, standard pricing, individual pricing and stock, and Dynamic Highway shares it on the supplier's terms with the platforms distributors use. 73 suppliers are live, with 8 more in progress.

Dynamic Highway supplies Sourcing City Platinum and Promotional Office. 69,229 products carry live prices and 49,220 carry live stock, so distributors see their own negotiated prices alongside standard prices and stock, without collecting data from each supplier themselves. What is Dynamic Highway?

Merchandise World

Merchandise World is the UK's largest trade exhibition for the promotional merchandise industry. Launched in 2017, it is owned jointly by Sourcing City and the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA), of which Sourcing City is a member, and it is strictly trade only: open to professional distributor companies, with no clients or end users admitted.

The next show is Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 January 2027 at CBS Arena, Coventry. merchandiseworld.co.uk

Market intelligence

Since 2007 Sourcing City has published the UK and Ireland Promotional Merchandise Market Report, which sizes the market, profiles distributors and suppliers, and sets the industry against the wider UK economy. The 2026 edition, covering the 2025 market, values it at £1.354bn across 3,086 distributor companies.

Sourcing City News covers the trade every day, and the white paper series turns the platform's own data into practical analysis. Read the white papers

Global partnership

Sourcing City is a founding member of PromoAlliance, formed in 2012 with the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) in North America and the Promotional Product Service Institute (PSI) in Europe. The three organisations work together on best practice, market insight, education and connections between industry peers.

Our journey

Our founder’s legacy

Sourcing City was founded by David Long, a highly respected leader within the promotional merchandise industry.

Before establishing Sourcing City, David served as Managing Director of Dowlis Group, where he grew the business from £2.4 million to £12.5 million turnover, establishing it as one of the UK’s largest independent promotional merchandise distributors.

He also served as Chairman of Promota, the industry trade association at the time, helping grow its membership to 1,000 companies and leading the creation of one of the industry’s most influential trade exhibitions.

Recognising the potential of the emerging internet in the early 2000s, David founded Sourcing City in 2002 with a vision of a central hub that would connect the entire industry through digital platforms, market intelligence and collaboration.

Over the following two decades, that vision grew into a connected set of services that today serves distributors accounting for 49.6% of UK and Ireland promotional merchandise spend.

David’s contribution to the industry was recognised with numerous honours, including the Roger Saunders Award from Promota in 2007 and the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) Lifetime Achievement Award.

Following his passing in December 2025, his vision continues through the Sourcing City team, who remain committed to innovation, collaboration and supporting the continued growth of the promotional merchandise industry.

The company today

Sourcing City is a trading name of Dynamic Image Ltd, a member of the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA), and operates from The Hub, Fowler Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7JP.