Our History

Graham Lee Carpets was established January 1960 in Mitcham by two partners, Fred Whant and Fred Kemp. The company was named after their sons Graham and Lee.

The Partnership ended after a few years and Fred Whant carried on running the company. Graham, the eldest son, joined the company full time in 1972, after working on Saturdays for year and also working for a photography company in London.
In 1976, the Rosehill shop was opened and Martin, Fred’s second son, joined the company. He had previously worked for Lillywhites in London.
In 1979, the Worcester Park shop was opened and Brian Porter joined the company from another carpet retailer.
Fred Whant retired in 1987 with Graham and Martin carrying on as partners.
In 1988, the Cheam Village shop was opened, it had been trading as L.J Carpets for the previous 25 years.
In 1990 saw the closing of the Mitcham shop after 30 years of trading, and in 1992 the Rose Hill shop closed also, enabling the expansion of the Worcester Park and Cheam Village shops.
The third generation of Whant’s joined in 2003, Graham and Martin’s sons Mark and Greg.
In 2003 Graham Lee Carpets became a Ltd company with five directors.
2010 sees our 50th year of trading.