www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

They appear to have gone bust. Does everyone buy foreign imports or was there product just rubbish.

Myself, I bought a lot of their tiles from their outlet store in Swinton

They called in the administrators last week and yesterday made over 200 staff redundant, including all the people at the quarry in Dorset. I think they will survive (ie get taken over) but in a much smaller form.
Like most UK manufacturers, Pilks have suffered with low demand caused by the recession but more significantly, from the 'dumping' of Chinese produced tiles at below cost. To give you an idea, a good quality European, eg Italian, porcelain tile will typically retail at £40 per sq mtr or more in an independent retailers. Compare this with B & Q who were recently selling Chinese made polished porcelain tiles for under £10 per sq mtr. Bearing in mind the increased costs of energy and raw materials the world over and the cost of shipping, you may wonder how come they are so cheap. The body that represents European ceramic tile manufacturers are currently taking action through the EU against this dumping by the Chinese.