Bents Garden & Home has secured an £8m term loan facility with Barclays to support the continued growth of the business.
The new funding will support the development of a two storey extension providing new offices and warehousing and an additional 58,000sq ft in retail space at the Warrington garden centre.

Bents is currently in the middle of a £10m redevelopment, which will see the addition of several new brand concessions and an extension of the centre's Fresh Approach Restaurant. Phase one of the building work began last summer, when 10 acres of environmental gardens were built as well as a children's play area and birds of prey centre, and phase two got underway in January.

Matthew Bent, managing director of Bents, said: "Barclays has demonstrated an understanding of our business, the sector in which we operate, and the opportunities available to us. The bank's support is an endorsement of our strategy and illustrates both the strength of our balance sheet and the quality of our asset base. The team at Barclays shares our massive enthusiasm and is keen to support our future growth plans."

Originating in the 1930s, Bents in Glazebury now employs over 300 people with an annual turnover of £14m. The business has experienced strong growth in recent years and is on track to achieve 8% growth in the financial year 2013-2014.

The third generation of the Bents family - Matthew, Rachel, Helen and Katherine - has become involved in the running of Bents. Mr Bent has already delivered one of the UK's most innovative and progressive new garden centre buildings, the Open Skies Glass House, and the new funding from Barclays represents the start of a new and ambitious 10 year development plan to transform the site into a major retail and leisure destination.