A lifetime in flooring shaped by family, teamwork, innovation, lessons, and pride in every job.
FLOORING has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. It runs in the family: it’s what we do, what we talk about, and what continues to bring us together as new generations join the trade.
While Loughton might be the name most people associate with us today, that’s not where it all began. The real starting point – and perhaps the one that got away – was Smyth Bros. This was a labour-only company; we worked as subcontractors for anyone who would have us. Across London, we ran a tight operation: new vans, CB radios (long before mobile phones existed), and a solid team that could mobilize at a moment’s notice. If a big job needed extra hands, we’d call in reinforcements to make sure it got done – no one slipped off early!
That approach earned us a loyal following of builders and clients alike. We trained dozens of friends and in-laws who went on to become subcontractors themselves. I didn’t just build a team – I built a network of people who worked with me, never for me.
I’ve always believed in treating everyone with respect and making sure they were paid before I was. I won’t dwell on the few bad apples – they always show themselves eventually. No one ever left me for more money, because I always paid what I’d expect if I’d done the job myself.
Memorable jobs
One standout project was Wembley Arena – 4,000sq m of flooring.
- End of day one – 11:00pm: The arena was fully set up for the Horse of the Year Show, a show ring covered with two feet of straw across the entire floor.
- Day two – midday: By noon, Barbra Streisand needed the arena for her rehearsal. That gave us just 13 hours to clear every bit of straw from the building. While the arena crew installed staircases and seating anchors, my team had to lay Axminster broadloom carpet across the entire arena floor, staircases, and walkways.
We finished right on time. When Barbra began rehearsing, the arena was fully carpeted. - Day two – 11:00pm: After her first night’s performance, we had to lift every piece of carpet – each one numbered like a giant jigsaw puzzle. We stacked and loaded them carefully into our lorries, lined up along the rear of the arena for easy access.
- By 4:00am, all the carpet was out. We removed the Copydex adhesive from the seams and edges and lifted the custom-made 2in black timber stair rods that covered the stair-gaps. Every piece was pre-drilled, marked, and packed in order, ready for reinstallation.
- Day three – 4:00am: By the early hours, the arena was already being transformed for Torvill and Dean. To my surprise, hot water was raining down onto the base – smaller droplets freeze faster, I learned. By midday, Wembley Arena had become a full ice rink.
Two weeks later, we reversed the process: melting the ice and reinstalling the carpet for Barbra’s next show. We were even faster the second time!
After her final performance, that same carpet was repurposed throughout the stadium’s main dining hall and hospitality boxes. Nothing went to waste. Looking back, those were long days and even longer nights but the teamwork, respect, and pride we shared made it all worthwhile.
Over the years, we continued to win work at Wembley Stadium, the Arena, and nearby buildings. One of the toughest jobs was laying Freudenberg tiles around the concourse, along with countless staircases leading to various levels – each with different nosing widths and that enormous logo.
The Wembley Stadium Project
When plans for the new Wembley Stadium began, along with the new Chelsea stand, we knew we needed to get in front of Multiplex, the main contractor for both projects. We submitted a competitive bid to make sure we won, and we did – completing the work in record time to earn approval from their team.
Wembley was already on board.
Our crew spent over 12 months onsite, typically three to four days a week. They know who they are. Together, we advised the professional teams, visiting multiple factories to finalise carpet layouts for the circular design, ensuring the pattern stayed perfectly parallel to the bar areas. We tested different resin systems for the common areas and installed stainless-steel skirtings and nosings designed to carry services – more than 10 miles of it. Everything pointed to it being our job.
But we lost it.
How? A false Dun & Bradstreet report. It took more than four years to prove it was wrong. For most companies, a bad D&B report is a death sentence. I was furious, and rightfully so, but I also had friends in the right places.
Competitors, of course, seized on it. Bad news is manna from heaven in this industry, and they took every opportunity to bring it up. The truth, however, was that I had one of the best credit ratings in the UK. I just had to fight to prove it.
I turned it around in the high court – and won. Then I had to sue the lawyers for failing to claim special damages. That was another battle: how do you prove a negative? I won both cases but it came at a cost…
Everything you wanted to know about Derek Smyth
DEREK Smyth has more than six decades of experience in the flooring industry, combining technical expertise, business acumen, and innovation. From 2016 to 2025, Derek has provided consultancy services under NDA to nationwide builders, flooring contractors, and private clients, assisting with technical, financial, and business issues, as well as troubleshooting product or labour failures in the domestic market. He is CFA and TAE accredited and leverages a lifetime of experience to support clients at all levels. From 2007 to 2016, he founded and patented IOBAC, a glueless flooring system designed for easy installation, maintenance, and recycling, which won a Gold Award at EcoBuild in 2012.
Earlier, from 1971 to 2011, he established Loughton Contracts, pioneering numerous industry innovations including online customer manuals, BS8750, ISO9000, ISO14001, and ISO18001 compliance, while maintaining a strong focus on reliability, quality, and environmental responsibility.
He offers comprehensive knowledge of flooring manufacturers, subfloor preparation, and non-partisan troubleshooting worldwide. Outside work, he’s a qualified BSAC scuba diver and instructor, a licensed motorboat skipper, and enjoys a range of personal hobbies, supported by his wife Lauren.