History of Graham Lee Carpets Ltd
Graham Lee Carpets was established in Mitcham on 1 January 1960 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 a year and while working for a photographic 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. He is now one of the company directors.
- In 1988, the Cheam Village shop was opened after it had been trading as L.J. Carpets for the previous 25 years.
- 1990 saw the closing of the Mitcham shop after 30 years of trading, and in 1992 the Rosehill 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.
- 2004 sees our 44th year of trading.
- Fred retired in 1987 with Graham and Martin carrying on as partners.
- In 2004 Graham Lee became a Ltd company with five directors.
Working in the Worcester Park Community
Design, hosting and management by InitialSite
