Wyevale garden centre sell off planned

Owner Terra Firma, the private equity fund, has appointed specialist Christie & Co to advise on the sale of the business which takes in 145 garden centres, ranging from horticultural centres to major leisure destination venues including Percy Thrower Garden Centre at Shrewsbury.

Wyevale has sites across the UK but with a weighting towards the South East.

A number are in the West Midlands including Albrighton Garden Centre, near Wolverhampton; Aldridge Garden Centre; Barnett Hill Garden and Leisure, near Stourbridge; Gardenlands Garden and Leisure, Wolverhampton; Wolseley Bridge Garden Centre, between Stafford and Rugeley and Shenstone Garden Centre, near Lichfield.

It also has Wyevale Telford Garden Centre in Shropshire.

The sites range in size from one to 108 acres and are profitable standalone business opportunities.

Wyevale Garden Centres have invested significantly in the business and the majority of sites have high specification restaurants and cafes, many with children’s soft play areas.

Steve Rodell, managing director for retail at Christie & Co, said: “The garden centre market is vibrant and on an upwards trajectory.

"In recent years garden centres have become much more than places just to buy plants, evolving to become wider leisure and retail destinations with play centres for children, restaurants and other activities designed to improve the shopping experience.

"These attractive consumer fundamentals with multiple income streams mean the market is likely to be resilient to headwinds experienced by the high street.

“The sale of Wyevale Garden Centres presents a unique opportunity for a wide range of buyers from financial institutions, existing garden centre operators, independent business people and entrepreneurs to buy well invested local garden centres within the price range of £200,000 to £35 million.

"Financial institutions will be attracted to a strong business that is a platform for consolidation of the sector. Entrepreneurs will be particularly attracted into a market with the prospect of enhancing an already resilient income stream by adding their own profitable activities into underutilised ancillary space which has a multitude of potential uses. Current garden centre operators seeking to compliment or improve their existing business will also be attracted to the disposal, as opportunities of this quality rarely come to the market.”

Roger Mclaughlan, chief executive of Wyevale Garden Centres, said: “This investment provides a fantastic opportunity for new long-term owners looking to enter the market and existing operators seeking to expand their current operations.

"Wyevale Garden Centres has been transformed beyond recognition over the last few years, and our customers are responding really positively to all the improvements we’ve been making, with improved ranges, high stock availability and exceptional garden centre standards. Our improved business has engaged colleagues and put customers at the heart of what we do. Thanks to the hard work of all of our colleagues, we remain firmly on track to grow our sales and profits this year.”

Wyevale is the largest operator of garden centres in the UK employing about 6,000. It began as a mail order nursery in 1932 before becoming one of the UK’s earliest garden centres in 1966 –46 years later, its current owners, Terra Firma Capital Partners, purchased Wyevale Garden Centres.