Buckingham Palace contract for Wakefield company

Firth Flooring, run by husband and wife Lee and Jo Firth, was approached for work installing the flooring at both the royal venues’ new gift shops. The shops were also furnished by a West Yorkshire company, Roebuck and Holmes.

Jo Firth, 37, said: “Lee is a perfectionist and the business has grown over 10 years purely as a result of recommendations.

“We do work all over the country, and are quite often in London.

“The Palace and Windsor Castle jobs were fittings with Herringbone vinyl, which is beautiful flooring and is fashionable just now. Its design is similar to the old parquet floors so there is an element of the traditional there.

“The checks on anyone working around the Palace are stringent, so we are hopeful of more opportunities, maybe inside the Palace next time...

“Lee did spot Prince Harry in the grounds, and saw the corgis walked while the Queen was in residence, but that was it.”

Lee does bespoke flooring along with carpet tiles, linoleum, safety flooring, vinyls and carpets, and enjoys a challenge, she added.

Recently he has provided surfacing for several indoor adventure golf courses, and a train track on vinyl for a Thai street food restaurant.

Firth Flooring is strictly a family company, with Lee’s twin brothers, Mark and Paul, the only employees at present.

But there is always potential work for quality flooring contractors, said Jo. A new website for the company is about to be launched.