Marshall tells growers, “Your Country needs you”
Marshall challenged UK growers to grab the opportunity presented by Brexit. About Ocado he said online gardening sales are ‘piffling’ and now is the time for this to change. Read more - members only
Marshall tells growers, “Your Country needs you”
Marshall challenged UK growers to grab the opportunity presented by Brexit. About Ocado he said online gardening sales are ‘piffling’ and now is the time for this to change. Read more - members only
BGC wins permission for a massive new garden centre at East Durham
British Garden Centres have been given permission for a massive re-development of their East Durham garden centre that will create 250+ new jobs. Read more - members only
Westland Horticulture files 2016 accounts
Westland Horticulture increase sales to £127.7m and made a pre-tax profit of £4.1m after charges for integrating William Sinclair, bad debt write-offs and foreign currency losses. Read more - members only
Barrus signs up for new 16 acres site
E.P. Barrus, distributor of brands such as Wolf, Wilkinson Sword and Energiser, is to consolidate its operations under one roof and remain in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Read more - members only
The Kelling Estate has acquired Emcy Garden & Leisure
The Kelling Estate has acquired the business and assets of Emcy Garden & Leisure including the land and buildings. Read more - members only
B&Q sales down 4.6% on back of store closures
Quarterly results from Kingfisher show a strong performance from Screwfix to compensate a fall in sales at B&Q as the ONE Kingfisher transformation plan progresses. Read more - members only
Amazon seeks improved links with BHETA suppliers
At the recent BHETA networking event, Amazon buyers were out in force and outlined several services that could take the supplier opportunities to new levels. Read more - members only
Blue Diamond agrees a deal on Bridgford
Blue Diamond is to take on the lease of the new £10m Bridgford garden centre near Nottingham once it has been built. Read more - members only
3 garden retailers listed as UK’s most dynamic businesses by the LSE
The London Stock Exchange has listed 3 garden retailers in its list of 1000 companies to inspire Britain. They are Creative Gardens, Notcutts and Primrose. Read more - members only
Sarah Downing joins Kelkay as head of marketing
Kelkay has announced that the former Gardman marketing director, Sarah Downing, has been appointed as head of marketing, a newly created role. Read more - open to all
Berwick buys 14 acre Plantsplus
Berwick Garden Centre has revealed that they bought a third site at the end of last year. Primarily a retail nursery, Plantsplus is being extended to include a restaurant. Read more - members only
Surrey grower seeks planning for new nursery
RC Kemp & Son, a bedding and veg plant grower in Worplesdon, Surrey, is seeking to build new nursery to cope with increasing demand. Read more - members only
Dobbies to launch national online garden centre
Dobbies is to launch an online store early next year serving the whole of the UK following an agreement with the Ocado Group’s Speciality Stores. Read more - members only
George Hillier takes a senior management role as Hillier rewards loyalty
Hillier has recruited from within and attracts a buyer from Dobbies to fill the vacancies left after last month’s departures to Dobbies. Read more - members only
Planters plans to extend Bretby Garden Centre
Planters at Bretby has submitted an application to redevelop and extend its garden centre at Bretby in South Derbyshire. Read more - members only
Dobbies to open at 7am for ‘Coffee to Go’
A highlight of the first day of the HTA Catering Conference was Costas Constantinou explaining to Matthew Appleby, how he would improve the Dobbies restaurants. Read more - members only
Wesfarmers says further investment in Homebase depends on successful pilots
It has been reported that Bunnings was disappointed with the Homebase performance in May, but that the two pilots are trading well. Read more - members only
Garden centres making the headlines around the country
Garden centres have made headlines in their areas for reasons as different as a fire, planning permission for housing, giving a facelift to a hospital garden and pleading not guilty to breaching planning laws. Read more - members only
Squire’s is to close Woking GC in June for redevelopment
Having completed upgrades at Long Ditton, Chertsey and Hersham, Squire’s is to close Woking in June for redevelopment. Read more - members only
B&M reports a very strong performance in gardening
B&M the ‘disruptive’ discounter with a strong gardening offer, opened 53 new stores in the UK during 2016-17 and increased sales to £2,035m. Read more - members only
Wyevale is propped up by Terra Firma -UPDATED
The Sunday Telegraph appears to confirm trade rumours that Terra Firma was forced to prop up Wyevale earlier this year. Updated with comments from Guy Hands. Read more - open to all
Crocus to trial clicks and bricks
Crocus.co.uk, the original online garden centre, is to test a new retail concept with a geographical presence starting next year at Dorney Court. Read more - members only
Rapid growth continues at Blue Diamond as profits jump 28%
Blue Diamond plans to double turnover by 2022 as profits jump by 28%. So far 2017 trade has been promising. Read more - members only
Strong domestic sales for Marshalls
Marshalls, UK manufacturer of paving and hard landscaping products, says domestic order books are the longest ever as overall sales are up 6% so far this year. Read more - members only
Work starts on creating one of the largest garden centres in the UK
Newspan has started construction to create one of the biggest destination garden centres in the country at Bridgford garden centre. Read more - members only
New team to improve Dobbies restaurant offer
Nicholas Marshall brings in former Wyevale colleagues as he builds a new Dobbies catering team with plans for significant improvements. Read more - members only
Gardena pilots first Ambassador Store at Gordale
Gardena is piloting an Ambassador store to showcase its product range at Gordale Garden Centre in the Wirral. Read more - members only
Blue Diamond closes on £100m threshold
248 Blue Diamond staff celebrated at the group’s annual awards and were told by MD Alan Roper that the group is fast becoming a titan of its industry. Read more - members only
Forest uses stealth technology to reduce unwanted noise in the garden
Forest has unveiled a noise reducing Decibel Panel that it believes is the most significant development in fence panels in years. Read more - members only
Caution after a buoyant Easter
Garden centres report an excellent Easter and April with sales up 40% on last year and storm Katie. But chief executives tell us, “We must keep our feet on the ground,” and it will get tougher, with increased competition and inflation. Read more - members only