Hare Hatch Sheeplands looks set for a long fight with Wokingham
The enforcement dispute between Wokingham District Council and Hare Hatch Sheeplands seems set for the long run after a Council debate that was called a farce by owners of the garden centre. Read more
Buoyant Hillier celebrates a year of growth
Hillier crowned Eastbourne their Garden Centre of the year. They named Meon Valley Nurseries, Westland and Bramblecrest as their best suppliers but warned that any price increases would be resisted. Read more
Garden centre fire near Heathrow
15 fire engines took 5 hours to control a major fire at Ansell Garden Centre on Sunday. Read more
Decco fined £2.2m following death of a worker
Garden and DIY wholesaler, Decco, has been given the largest ever fine for a local authority prosecution after a worker died following a fall at one of its depots. Read more
Why are gardening brands ignoring QVC?
Richard Jackson, the gardening guru on QVC, asked why many garden brands ignore QVC when so many famous brands in other sectors sell through it. Read more
‘Europe is not a long term priority for us’ says Scotts chairman
Scotts-Miracle Gro continues to look at ways to exit Europe and hopes of a final answer in the near future. UK sales were hit by the closure of Solus. Read more
Wyevale Folkestone is to close
Radnor Estates that own Folkestone garden centre have served notice on Wyevale having won planning consent to use the site for residential use. Read more
Bunnings making good progress with Homebase
Gillam says the new pricing, marketing and operational strategies within Homebase is achieving results in line with plans. Read more
Rosebourne opens its first garden centre
Rosebourne has started trading at Weyhill, near Andover. Its first garden centre has opened its doors prior to its official opening this Saturday, the 22nd October 2016. Read more
Sainsbury’s is to put Argos in every store
Sainsbury’s will introduce Argos digital concessions to more than 20 additional stores by Christmas, bringing the total number to over 30. Read more
Smart Garden to buy Chapelwood from Scotts
Paris Natar says at last he has found the right opportunity as Smart Garden agrees terms to buy the Chapelwood wild bird care business from Scotts. Read more
Crooklands of Dalton reopens on Oct 8th
Having been closed for the whole of September, Crooklands of Dalton, plans to re-open on October 8th, following a £1m redevelopment. Read more
Dobbies CX outlines the plans for Dobbies
John Cleland, chief executive of Dobbies since July, told an invited audience of chief executives at Glee that Dobbies’ new owners were long term cash investors. Read more
SBM plans to be world number 2 after acquisition of Bayer Garden
Jean-Paul and Alexandre Simmler, owners of SBM, have outlined their plans for Bayer Garden when they close the deal in October to take it out of Bayer. Read more
Scotts are in advanced discussions to sell ChapelWood
Scotts Miracle-Gro has announced that the company is to sell the ChapelWood bird seed brand. Read more
Strong profit growth from T&M
T&M revealed a sharp improvement in performance in its latest accounts, crediting more efficient operations along with a shift away from traditional catalogues to the web. Read more
Uncertainty for suppliers as Dunelm buys WS Group
It is widely reported that Dunelm has bought WS Group the online retailer of home and garden in what seems to involve a pre-pack deal. Read more
Under the radar changes at Klondyke
As Bob Hewitt retires and David Yardley takes over they explain the under-the-radar changes at Klondyke since Bob Gault died in 2011. Read more
Two garden centre groups open new restaurants in time for Christmas
Frosts at Woburn Sands and Notcutts at Norwich are completing £multi-million developments in time for Christmas. Read more
B&M reports good sell-through of gardening and outdoor furniture
B&M is delighted with last year’s new stores, including the significant number of larger, former DIY stores that have garden centres. Read more
Take a sneek peek at the new Wyevale website
Wyevale has offered Gardening Club members a sneek peek at its long awaited new website, which launches very soon. Read more
Bunnings to pilot 10 warehouse stores
Bheta hears there will be 10 pilot Bunnings Warehouse stores by the end of next year, starting with St Albans, and there will be fewer direct imports. Read more
More independent garden centres show growth in 2015
Latest results on Gardenforum show growth in 2015 for garden centres like Otter Nurseries, Polhill, West Country Garden Centres and Woodthorpe Hall. Sales declined for two suppliers of garden machinery. Read more
Scotsdales holds consultation over new homes at Fordham
Scotsdales has held a public exhibition showing the proposed development of 250 homes on its garden centre at Fordham Read more
Home & Garden to close Doveley’s Garden Centre
Doveley’s Garden Centre, which is leased by the Home & Garden group, starts a massive 3 day closing down sale on Friday. Read more
Garden centres making the news
A chance meeting with Olympic cyclists, The Apple and Cider fair at Eggesford and houses planned for a former Wyevale garden centre are among the regional headlines this week. Read more
2015 was a good year for Haskins, Alton, A. Mir & Co and Europlants UK
The latest company results to be updated on Gardenforum include strong growth from A&E Leisure, Europlants and A. Mir & Co, plus figures from Alton Garden Centre, Pennell’s Holdings, Haskins and The Millbrook Garden Company. Read more
T&M joins the Google Certified Shops program
Thompson & Morgan, gets the Google Certified Shops badge for its online range of seeds, plants, gardening equipment and outdoor living furniture. Read more
Online sales grow 39% at B&Q
Interim results from Kingfisher show good progress unifying the buying and procurement across B&Q, Screwfix, and the international subsidiaries. Read more
Green light for massive garden centre and factory outlet at Ashchurch
Secretary of State has shown a green light to the building of a £60m garden centre and factory outlet at Ashchurch that will create 1,000 jobs. Read more
