De Ferranti and Paris Ceramics brands join forces on King's Road

7 May 2009

Luxury wall and floor tile specialist De Ferranti - who expanded its offering of stone and ceramics from around the world with the recent purchase of London-based Paris Ceramics - is on the move.

This week the new owner, Alvaro de Ferranti, is taking the entire De Ferranti brand from its Fulham tiles treasure trove, The Engineering Works, around the corner to Paris Ceramics' Chelsea headquarters on the King's Road. It means architects, designers and private customers will have a one-stop shop for their tile purchases.

Paris Ceramics was previously owned by Smallbone plc, whose kitchen brands Smallbone and Mark Wilkinson Furniture were sold to entrepreneur Leo Caplan in March.

De Ferranti director Alvaro de Ferranti, pictured, says: "The products and services offered by Paris Ceramics perfectly complement those offered at De Ferranti, allowing us to add a wider range of traditional rustic stone and terracotta flooring, both antique and modern."

De Ferranti says Paris Ceramics has pioneered the reclamation of stone and terracotta and developed a technique for giving newly-quarried stone a reclaimed appearance at a lower price point than the real thing. The purchase of Paris Ceramics means, he says, that with the credit crunch, the business will be even better placed to offer clients a wider range of quality products.

'Of course, I'll be refining the collection,' says De Ferranti, 'but without taking away those very classic qualities of product that designers loved from the heyday of Paris Ceramics.'

Richard Robson, Paris Ceramic's general manager will continue to run the King's Road showroom for De Ferranti.