News From the Garden Press Day

What will the consumer gardening press be talking about after visiting the Garden Press Day last week? Here are some of the highlights. See more... Read more - members only

TGCG names best garden centres

The Garden Centre Group has named the GCA chairman Peter Burks as regional manager of the year and Woodlands as its best large garden centre. See more... Read more - members only

Britishgardener.co.uk has the solution to blanket weed

A new garden product website shows how distribution channels are changing. Like many gardening websites, Britishgardener.co.uk relies on manufacturers to drop ship products, but this one also sells a unique range of products that could be made available to garden centres. See more... Read more - members only

Irish B&Q put into Examinership to rescue part of the business

Kingfisher has put its loss-making Irish division of B&Q into Examinership in an attempt to save some of the stores. See more... Read more - members only

Kevin Bradshaw says TGCG is absolutely focussed on growth

Gardenforum interviews Kevin Bradshaw, The Garden Centre Group’s new CEO. He reveals that the search is on to recruit 3 directors and that the group is absolutely focussed on growth through acquisition and through increasing revenue from existing sites. See more... Read more - members only

Latest figures show 2012 garden centre sales fell between 4% and 7%

The GCA and the HTA both show that sales were up 6% for December and went some way to claw back the revenue lost in the wash-out spring. But traditional gardening lines have been hit hard. See more... Read more - members only

Notcutts to share Bagshot garden centre with Waitrose

Notcutts hopes to build a Waitrose store on its garden centre site at Bagshot on the A30 in Surrey and to build a new garden centre alongside it. See more... Read more - members only

TGCG to introduce central distribution for plants

The HTA’s conference for growers, Contact 2013, heard today how The Garden Centre Group is to introduce central distribution for plants this spring as it seeks to become known as the best retailer for plants in the UK. See more… Read more - members only

Details emerge of Doff Portland rescue

A CVA has been approved by creditors of Doff Portland. This paves the way for new owners 151 Products to invest in the future of the business. See more... Read more - members only

Haskins looks for 5th Garden Centre

Recent investment and better buying have brought massive growth to Haskins this Christmas. It now wants a 5th site to develop. See more... Read more - members only

Thieves force Notcutts store to close on Xmas Eve

Ramraiders caused £10,000 of damage when they hit the Notcutts garden centre at Cranleigh on the night of the 23rd. See more... Read more - members only

Doff sold to 151 Products

Nottingham based Doff Portland has been sold to 151. News has also emerged that Neudorff, whose products were handled by Doff, has moved to Solus for its distribution to UK garden centres. See more... Read more - members only

Barton Grange and All in One top Christmas display competition

Barton Grange Garden Centre and All in One Garden Centre are the overall winners of the GCA Christmas display competition. See more... Read more - members only

NSPCC benefits from play area charges at TGCG

Since October, The Garden Centre Group has charged £1.50 for children to use its play areas.  Part of the proceeds will go to the NSPCC.  See more... Read more - members only

South East merger to form Provender Nurseries

Wyevale East Nurseries and East Horticulture have operated as separate businesses on the same site in Kent. In the New Year the companies, with long gardening pedigrees, are merging to form Provender Nurseries. See more... Read more - members only

Wild bird care ends 2012 in value growth

GfK reports that wild bird care products have achieved a 1.5% value growth vs. the previous year. However it has not recovered to 2010 levels. See more...
Read more - members only

New owner for Pest-Stop

Proctor Brothers have sold their Pest-Stop division to P+L Systems. This is likely to lead to the brand taking a more prominent position in the garden market. See more... Read more - members only

Suttons Seeds heralds in 2013 with a new trial ground

A new trial ground will provide Suttons Seeds with more space for new variety and growing technique trialling as well as opportunities for putting on events for the public and the press. See more... Read more - members only

Barton Grange is Best Garden Centre for the second year

Barton Grange, Preston and Bents vied again to win the judging of best GCA destination garden centre of the year, with the former winning for the second consecutive year. Planters in Tamworth was judged best in the smaller, garden centre category. See more… Read more - members only

Liquidation for Godfrey DIY

Godfrey DIY, the Norfolk based DIY chain with strong garden departments, has been put in liquidation. Two stores could be sold as going concerns. See more... Read more - members only

Smoke alarms save Houghton Hall

Quick reaction by the staff and fire brigade saved Klondyke from what may have been a second major garden centre fire. See more... Read more - members only

Home Retail shares bolstered by bid rumours

Christmas figures for Argos were better than expected, while Homebase disappointed with a fall in sales. However, the Home Retail share price has been strengthened by rumours of interest from private equity. See more... Read more - members only

Trebaron GC in Preston is sold

Trebaron Garden Centre in Preston has been sold to Duxbury Holdings. The site was owned separately from the other Trebaron garden centres. See more… Read more - members only

Which? trials compost for young plants

Don’t play Russian roulette with your seeds and young plants says Which? Gardening. The Jan/Feb edition tested 27 widely available composts and says it never ceases to be amazed by how quality varies. See more... Read more - members only

Compost prices to rise 10% says Sinclair

The wet of 2012 will impact compost prices in 2013 says Sinclair. The company also expects the UK professional growing sector to contract, due to cheaper plants sourced from the Eurozone. See more... Read more - members only

Gardenforum’s Review of 2012

Here’s a summary of the news that has filled the Gardenforum pages in 2012. It is dominated by the impact of the weather and perhaps the economy. The story is open to all our readers. See more... Read more - open to all

Gardman announces financial restructuring

Gardman has restructured its finances, reducing its burden of debt. This underwrites the operational streamlining of the last 18 months and gives the leading garden supplier a secure platform for the future. See more... Read more - members only

Former Hozelock MD to be new Sinclair CX

Peter Rush is to be the new chief executive of William Sinclair. He was the group managing director of Hozelock for almost 5 years. See more... Read more - members only

Planners recommend approval for Dobbies at Inverness

Planners are recommending that approval is given later this week for a New Dobbies garden centre next to Tesco in Inverness. See more... Read more - members only

Kingfisher in good shape despite weak consumer confidence

Kingfisher, the parent of B&Q and Screwfix in the UK, maintained trading profits while like-for-like sales fell by almost 3% in the August–October period when markets remained challenging. See more... Read more - members only

To see earlier stories - Look in the News Archive