Wyevale Garden Centres

Wyevale Garden Centres Limited
Private
Industry Gardening
Founded 1960
Headquarters Syon Park, Brentford, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
Key people
 Justin King, Chairman
Roger Mclaughlan, CEO
Products Garden centres
Owner Terra Firma Capital Partners
Number of employees
 5,000+
Website www.wyevalegardencentres.co.uk

Wyevale Garden Centres, formerly The Garden Centre Group, is a chain of 118 garden centres in England and Wales. It is the largest garden centre group in the UK.

It was voted 'Best Garden Centre 2009' in an online poll by Gardeners' World magazine.[1]

The group now owns 17 of the "Garden Retail Top 100" individual centres by turnover, including nine in the top 40.

On 17 July 2014 the company announced it would be rebranding to Wyevale Garden Centres.[2]

In May 2018, the company announced that it was putting itself up for sale as a complete business or for its individual garden centres.[3]

On 16 August 2018, Wyevale sold eight of its largest garden centres to Blue Diamond, including Bicester, Oxfordshire; Endsleigh, Devon; Sanders, Burnham-on-sea; Cadbury, Bristol; Cardiff, Wales; Percy Thrower, Shrewsbury; Melbicks, Birmingham; and Weybridge, Surrey.[4]

On 30th August, 2018 – Wyevale Garden Centres announced the sale of five garden centres to individual buyers, including Nailsworth Garden Centre which was sold to Blue Diamond.[5]

On 4th September, 2018 – Wyevale Garden Centres announced the sale of four garden centres to individual buyers.[6]

On 8th October, Dobbies, headquartered agreed to purchase a portfolio of five Wyevale Garden Centres sites in England.[7]

History

The company started as a mail-order nursery operated by the Williamson family in the 1930s in Hereford and in 1967 opened the first Wyevale Garden Centre on Kings Acre Road. It became a public limited company (PLC) in 1987 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

In February 2009, following the collapse of the Icelandic investment company Baugur Group who had a large stake in the firm, the Bank of Scotland became the majority owner of the firm in a debt-for-equity deal.[8] In 2009, the name was changed to The Garden Centre Group.[9]

The company was bought by private equity firm Terra Firma in March 2012.[10]

Locations

  • Barnett Hill (former Garden & Leisure)
  • Gardenlands (former Garden & Leisure)
  • Chartham & Canterbury
  • Eastleigh (former Garden & Leisure)
  • Oxford

Wyevale Garden Centres encompass Blooms, Country Gardens, Bridgemere, Heighley Gate, Jack's Patch, Old Barn, Woodlands, Wyevale, the Garden & Leisure Group, the Golden Acres Garden Centre Group as well as many smaller centres like Syon Park. The Group has changed the external signage on most of the garden centres back to their original names.[11]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gardenersworld.com/awards/results/
  2. ↑ http://www.hortweek.com/Retail/article/1213221/kevin-bradshaw-longer-deals-will-positive-garden-industry/
  3. ↑ "Wyevale May 2018 Press Release" (PDF). Wyevale Garden Centres.
  4. ↑ "WGC Press Release" (PDF). 25 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "WGC 30 August Press Release" (PDF). 30 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "WGC 4 September Press Release" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Dobbies Acquires 5 Garden Centres in £25m boost".
  8. ↑ News - Wyevale Group now under Bank of Scotland control
  9. ↑ Wyevale rebrands to return to its roots - RetailWeek
  10. ↑ Terra Firma buys Garden Centre in £276m deal - FT.com
  11. ↑ Wyevale rebrands to return to its roots | The People Pod
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