Based in Dublin, Ireland, the owners of family-run import and distribution firm Lucretia Tiles have launched Tile Devil, an online retailer aimed squarely at the UK home improvement market.

With online sales in the UK across all sectors predicted to reach £60bn for 2016 according to the Independent Centre for Retail Research, Tile Devil is hoping to tap into the growing economy.

Director of operations Hillary Emerson said, "

The tile industry in the UK is a £1 billion market in total. We have the wherewithal to compete online. Our main business involves supplying retailers across Ireland, so Tile Devil is a non-conflicting enterprise. It made sense that we turn our attention to it.”

“Our wood effect tiles are proving extremely popular, and our prices are extremely competitive. The 60 x 60 cm porcelain tiles are doing particularly well”

Former Oracle IT consultant, and Everest summiteer Fergus White runs the website. “I enjoy the technical challenge of perfecting the website, and devising strategies to gain higher search engine ranking”, said Mr White.

“The EU’s 2014 Directive on Consumer Rights has made our overall task easier, as consumer protection is the same for everyone across all member states. When the UK bows out, we will see what changes that will bring. So far, the Brexit vote has had little impact on us.”