Lovell Stone Group, which quarries a number of English limestones including Purbeck and Hartham Park Bath Stone, has set up a company called Belvedere Stone to sell a range of imported stones for flooring and paving.

Speaking about the launch of the new brand, Simon Willmott, Technical Sales Manager at Lovell Stone Group, said: “With decades of experience in the tile and stone industry, both as an installer and latterly a specifier, I became disheartened with the influx of stone products on the market in the UK which did not comply with Building Regulations, British Standards and European regulations.

“I had visited too many projects in the UK where low quality stone, poor installation and maintenance systems had resulted in disappointment for the end user, creating a misconception that stone was a problematic and difficult material to work with.

“Over the last year, countless samples of stone have been sourced, tested and dismissed from all over the globe, leaving us with a very robust and unique collection of stones. We have applied the same rigorous testing methods to fixing and sealing materials, which allows us to offer a complete, warrantied specification for stone installation.”

The Belvedere website is not yet up and running, but a holding page says it is on the way. There will be more about the move in the next issue of Natural Stone Specialist magazine (subscribe here to be sure you see it).