Fulham Palace GC to close at the end of August

The Prince’s Trust justifies the closure of Fulham Palace Garden Centre, despite a petition to retain it. See more… Read more - members only

New restaurant lifts sales at Highfield Garden World

Highfield Garden World has shown significant growth following the opening, this spring, of additional retail space and a 450 seat restaurant with views over the river Severn. See more… Read more - members only

Solus debtors must pay Scotts

It appears that a number of garden retailers have unexpectedly run into credit problems with Scotts Miracle-Gro because of money still owed to Solus. See more… Read more - members only

All–in-One Garden Centre fined for underage firework sale

Rochdale online reports that All–in-One garden centre faces a bill of £2500 in fines and costs having sold fireworks to underage volunteers last autumn. See more… Read more - members only

Mindless vandals bring havoc to Aylett’s dahlia fields

Weeks before the start of Aylett’s dahlia festival, thieves drove a stolen Land Rover through the nursery beds devastating the display. See more… Read more - members only

Gateacre garden centre to close at end of July

Gateacre Garden Centre, one of the first in the country, is to close after 80 years. Some staff will move to Burleydam. See more… Read more - members only

Call us Wyevale, again (Updated)

The Garden Centre Group is history. As of today, the group has reverted to its former name, Wyevale Garden Centres. See more… Read more - members only

Whites Stores seeks garden furniture concessions

White Stores is looking for a move into garden centres and will pay up to £100,000 a year for an outdoor living concession. See more… Read more - members only

Sinclair chairman steps down with immediate effect

Sinclair chairman, Hugh Etheridge, is stepping down as chairman with immediate effect. His seat is taken by non-exec director and investor, Rupert King. See more… Read more - members only

Margins up at The Garden Centre Group

2013 results from The Garden Centre Group show a big increase in gross margin while like-for-like sales were static. One of the core strategies is to drive consolidation via acquisition. For key figures and analysis, see more... Read more - members only

Patience pays off for Dobbies

A joint-venture between Tesco and Dobbies, the first in Scotland, has finally got the go-ahead from planners at East Kilbride. See more… Read more - members only

Otter buys Styles Garden Centre

Quinton Edwards has announced the sale of Styles Garden Centre to Otter Nurseries. See more... Read more - members only

Dog Rocks exits Solus and goes direct

Dog Rocks joins the list of suppliers delivering direct to garden centres following the appointment of administrators at Solus Garden & Leisure. See more… Read more - members only

Mr Fothergill's adds GroBox to its growing online portfolio

Mr Fothergill's has acquired the intellectual property and trading assets of GroBox Ltd. See more... Read more - members only

Management changes at QD stores

Former Morrisons operations controller, David Haycox, joins QD Stores in a series of management changes as the group adopts an omni channel approach to retailing. See more… Read more - members only

Decco calls for co-operation to plan 2015

The COO of Decco says that there are a lot of uncertainties for 2015. Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers must plan and work together closely to manage distribution after the loss of Solus as a wholesaler. See more... Read more - members only

Scotts gives update on Solus brands

Scotts recognises that it has much to do before Glee, to restore confidence with Solus customers. It has written today confirming that all Solus products will be available for the autumn, but has yet to determine a permanent route to market. See more… Read more - members only

Two London garden centres are under threat of closure

Two London garden centres, Fulham Palace and Morden Hall are under threat of closure though neither is definite. See more… Read more - members only

Pasco tells breeders - 'Consumers don't get your message'

Adam Pasco tells frustrated plant breeders at the Fleuroselect conference that their message is not getting to the consumer. Or is it even the right message? See more... Read more - members only

B&Q sales slip in second quarter

Lower sales of outdoor and seasonal products pulled B&Q down in the second quarter against strong comparisons last year. However the year-to-date figures are up. See more... Read more - members only

New name... new profile for Wyevale, starting with Xmas

In the centre of London’s Soho, on the hottest day of the year, the newly named Wyevale launched its Christmas displays to the consumer press and discovered many had no idea that garden centres did Christmas. See more… Read more - members only

Scotts to apply brand management formula to Solus

Scotts will bring its brand management skills to the Solus brands, namely adding value to brands, innovation and in due course, advertising direct to the consumer. See more... Read more - members only

Scotts buys Solus Brands

The Scotts Company (UK) Limited, has reached an agreement to acquire proprietary brands from Solus Garden and Leisure Limited (in Administration). Read more - members only

Trading normal after fire at Coolings

Fire destroyed two storage buildings at Coolings Green and Pleasant garden centre on Friday night. See more... Read more - members only

Sinclair uses cash from Bolton Fell to accelerate transition

William Sinclair stays positive despite a price rise in the professional sector which had damaging long-term consequences for sales. Sales since the end of March have also not been as strong as expected. See more… Read more - members only

TGCG outlines its vision for the future

In 18 months we have achieved a lot, said Kevin Bradshaw, but there is still a lot of work to do. The new CEO of The Garden Centre Group and his chairman have been telling Gardenforum about their vision for the future. See more… Read more - members only

Crest Garden names its sales team

Nick Davies’ new venture, Crest Garden, has named the agents that will make up the sales team to cover the UK. See more… Read more - members only

Notcutts has second thoughts over Bagshot rebuild

Having closed its garden centre in Bagshot for a joint redevelopment with Waitrose, Notcutts has decided against opening a new garden centre in Bagshot. See more… Read more - members only

Smaller garden centres did best in May

Strong performance from smaller garden centres in May pushed GCA sales figures ahead of last year. Garden furniture sales have been particularly strong. See more… Read more - members only

Bonmarché plans more concessions on garden centres

Bonmarché, the over 50s womenswear retailer, is looking for concession space in more garden centres having had successful trial this year. See more… Read more - members only

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