The move will see James Latham offering the full Abet range across all nine of its nationwide panel depots and will significantly strengthen its credentials as a leading laminate supplier in the UK.

Andrew Wright, director of Lathams Limited, said the distributorship was a clear signal to the market “that we are a serious laminate supplier”.

“Abet has always focused strongly on creativity and innovation and with links to the best Italian and international designers in the business, they offer a diverse range of laminates in many colours, styles and textures and I am confident that this latest addition will quickly have a major impact on our presence within this sector.”

Abet operates from two factories with a combined output exceeding 220,000m2 per day, making it Europe's largest manufacturer of high pressure laminates.