As Wyevale refinances after massive losses, has it turned the corner?
As Wyevale refinances, Roger Mclaughlan has spoken for the first time since becoming CEO about how he and his new management team are working to get the core business right. Further acquisitions are firmly on the back burner. Read more
WGC trading profit hit by switch to central distribution
Terra Firma says switch to central distribution was too much for Wyevale Garden Centres, hitting stock availability and sales in 2016. Trading profit fell 31%. Read more
Wyevale refinancing has been agreed according to reports
Press reports suggest Terra Firma is about to announce new long-term refinancing for Wyevale Garden Centres. Read more
Scotts UK has a perpetual license to sell Miracle-Gro
The Scotts Company (UK) reveals more about the buy-out from the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. Investment in innovation backed by TV advertising is the way forward. Read more
Notcutts reports a 58% jump in operating profit
Notcutts lifts sales and profit after 5 garden centres are modernised as part of their 5-year plan. A new leadership team has been recruited. Read more
Wholesalers go hand in hand with competing glove brands
National wholesaler, Decco, has signed an exclusive partnership with Briers, while Stax has secured a deal with E. P. Barrus to distribute their brands including the newly acquired Town & Country. Read more
Smart Garden celebrates a massive new logistics centre
The Mayor of Peterborough joined Paris Natar and the Smart Garden team to celebrate the opening of a massive new distribution hub that should see turnover grow to £100m. Read more
SBM Company to market MaxiCrop in the UK
SBM Company, which bought Bayer Garden last year, has announced a partnership agreement with Italy-based Valagro to sell and market its garden brands in Europe and the US. For the UK these include MaxiCrop. Read more
Briers launches Pignut, a new fashion company
Briers has launched a quality home textile range for garden centres with fashion conscious customers. The new company has been named Pignut. Read more
The Orangery Collection launches in two garden centres
Lolly Lee was so convinced that her new venture would be a success that she sold her house to fund the launch of The Orangery Collection, introducing design led ranges from artisan producers around the world. Read more
Squire’s plans a ‘Raffles style’ Café Bar at Shepperton, with a piano
Squire’s plans to open a new 'Raffles' Café Bar at Shepperton Garden Centre, which will include a new style of service - where orders are placed at the till then an electronic tracker is taken to the table. Read more
Marshall unveils his 3-year plan for Dobbies
New CEO, Nicholas Marshall unveils his £40m, 3-year plan to re-establish Dobbies’ reputation as a quality retailer of British plants. He also has ambitions to expand. Read more
Barton Grange begins construction of £8m leisure venue
The Barton Grange Group has started the construction of its £8m leisure development to be built alongside its award-winning garden centre at Brock on the A6 near Preston. Read more
Bunnings names its first Homebase conversion in the South West
Two more Homebase stores to be converted as Bunnings pilots, bringing the total to 10. The latest include Weston-super-mare and Harlow. Read more
Mr Fothergill’s Seeds has acquired Darlac Garden Tools
Mr Fothergill’s Seeds has acquired Darlac, the garden tools supplier based in Slough, to expand its offer to garden retailers. Read more
Terra Firma confirms the re-financing of WGC after massive losses in 2016
Wyevale accounts for 2016 show a net loss of £122m after a one-off charge for non-recurring items of £73.6m. This gives a new starting position for Wyevale, which has raised £216.5m in new finance to replace exisiting facilities that would have expired in 2018. Read more
Phase 1 extension of Northern Ireland garden centre to open
Colemans Garden Centre in Templepatrick, N. Ireland is nearing the completion of phase 1 of a £5m redevelopment and expansion. Read more
Wyevale expects to sell 2000 bulb packs an hour this weekend
Wyevale Garden Centres is predicting that this weekend will be the most popular for the sale of bulbs, when it expects to sell around 2,000 packets of bulbs an hour. Read more
Westland refreshes logo and aims for higher brand profile
Westland looks to raise its brand profile as the gardener’s champion after research shows there’s an opportunity to build consumer recognition. Read more
Stihl’s pilot with Dobbies marks a major advance for cordless battery tools
The Stihl Group expects demand for Lithium-Ion products to grow exponentially and is to test the selling of cordless products through garden centres. The first pilot is with Dobbies. Read more
Gardman’s field sales team visits its new National Distribution Centre
The Gardman sales team visited the almost completed 415,000 sq ft. National Distribution Centre last week to be briefed on Glee and the 2018 growth plans. Read more
Another respectable year for The Barton Grange group
Garden centre sales in 2016 were level, with profit increasing slightly at the Barton Grange Group as construction of the Flower Bowl has started for opening in 2018. Read more
Plans for new Honiton GC look set for approval
Planning officials have recommended that plans for a new garden centre on the outskirts of Honiton are approved. Which means it could be trading by next spring. Read more
Exponent Private Equity completes purchase of Scotts Miracle-Gro brands worldwide
Sheila Hill is UK Country Manager and says, “We look forward to strong investments in our brands and categories with more media and innovation.” Read more
New DC for Zest, plus a university link
Timber product supplier, Zest 4 Leisure, has just bought a new distribution centre in Saltney, Flintshire. It has also announced a collaboration with Cardiff Metropolitan University. Read more
Investment pays off for Creative Gardens
Creative Gardens beats the GCA averages following improvement works. Overall, almost as many centres were down in July as up. Read more
Trading to remain challenging for Bunnings UK
The historical poor performance of Homebase is expected to continue in the short term, despite encouraging sales growth in gardening categories, as customers continue to adjust to the Bunnings offer. Read more
What is happening at Wyevale Garden Centres?
Following recent rumours and reports about the preformance and funding of Wyevale, Gardenforum talks to major suppliers and people close to the company and gets a better understanding of what is happening. Read more
London’s Garden Bridge project is abandoned
The project to build a Garden Bridge over the river Thames has been abandoned, officially, following the Mayor of London withdrawing his support. Read more
Innovation from Mr Fothergill's
As well as the acquisition of Darlac, Mr Fothergill’s revealed other innovations, including a new RHS AGM range, a starter range endorsed by David Domoney and the introduction Seasol and Optigrow. Read more
