CHEPSTOW company Critchcraft Ltd is celebrating after being named Britain's top tile retailer of the year.
"It was a complete surprise. We knew we had been listed in the final six but we have been busy getting on with our work and the announcement of the win came completely out of the blue," said Mr John Critchley.
With around 1,000 different lines of tiles in stock – weighing around 2,000 tons! – the Chepstow company was recently named as one of the biggest tile retailers nationwide.
Mr Critchley said: "The success is very much down to the effort put in by my son Jeremy. He has worked seven days a week for the past 10 years and taken only a couple of weeks off. There is a young management here and they have led the way."
Formed in 1953, the company began life as boat builders but moved towards DIY and at one stage operated 25 retail outlets. Later they opened Britain's first hypermarket.
"We have always been in the forefront of retailing and this reward is very much a tribute to the efforts of Jeremy and the Critchcraft staff," said Mr Critchley.