Congratulations to Luca Dennis of Balderton Tile Centre Ltd for winning the Trainee Tile Fixer of the Year 2026 TTA Award!
Luca joined Balderton Tile Centre as an apprentice straight out of school in the summer of 2025 and enrolled at Leeds College of Building for the cohort beginning in September 2025. From the get go, Luca has been extremely eager to learn – always keen to get stuck in wherever he can, his supervisors say.
His journey began with a baptism of fire, assisting one of Balderton Tile Centre’s most experienced site tilers on a local project involving 36 showers, all finished in crisp metro white tiles with striking black grout. Luca was soon trusted with grouting some showers himself, and what stood out his how quickly he adapted – each day bringing more precision and speed.
He has quickly become an invaluable asset to his team, his colleagues report, with a dedication and natural flair suggesting an incredibly bright future ahead.
Luca was rewarded with a variety of prizes worth £3,500 at a ceremony during ExpoTile® – the UK’s trade show dedicated to tiles and tiling accessories, sponsored by NoMorePly Boarding Systems. This gives him even more support as he continues to develop in his role. Trainee Tile Fixer of the Year prizes were generously provided by BIHUI, Fix-A-Floor UK, Genesis Global Systems, Progress Profiles, NoMorePly, RUBI and UltraTile.
L to R: Paul Luff, Luca Dennis, Vince Marsh
