The Garden Centre Group has agreed a new partnership to run the plant centre and gift shop at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum in Gloucestershire.

The group officially started running the retail outlets on Tuesday, April 3. GCG chief executive Nicholas Marshall detailed the group's plans for the outlets: "We shall be offering a superb and expanded range of plants and gardening products. We shall be stocking top quality British grown plants, rare and unusual varieties, specimen trees, shrubs, conifers, acers and our David Austin range of roses."

He added: "Our gift shop will showcase a range of products, many of which are from British designers and manufacturers such as Emma Bridgewater and Garden Trading."

The Garden Centre Group, which operates 128 garden centres nationwide, was bought by private equity firm Terra Firma for £276m last month. The group puts a strong emphasis on locally-sourced produce, with more than 90% of its plant stock British-grown, and much of this stock grown in its own nurseries.

Westonbirt Arboretum director Simon Toomer commented: "We chose The Garden Centre Group because it brings with it a wealth of experience and knowledge from working with similar organisations. We believe it will bring fresh ideas to retail at Westonbirt Arboretum."

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