Wyevale Garden Centres has added Podington Garden Centre, in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, to its rapidly-growing estate.
The acquisition of Podington from the Read family brings the number of Wyevale garden centres to 144. The 60,000sq ft business will be renamed Podington, a Wyevale Garden Centre.

Colin and Norma Read started the centre as a small nursery in 1976 and built it into the leading garden centre in the region, with a 25,000sq ft covered shop on 3.4 acres, and a plant area containing over 9,000 varieties. Mr and Mrs Read run the centre with their sons Philip and Jonathan.

Wyevale chief executive Kevin Bradshaw said: "Podington Garden Centre is a first-rate family business, which has been run with real passion and expertise for 30 years. It has provided a significant economic boost to the local area and become a truly important part of the community.

"This complements our commitment to being a responsible citizen in the communities where we operate and a positive resource for employees, customers and the other people our business touches, and we look forward to carrying on this tradition."

Director of human resources Lisa Cherry added: "The top-notch plant quality the Podington centre is known for is a testament to the strong horticultural skills of its team, and they will be an invaluable addition to Wyevale Garden Centres."

She said Podington would become part of Wyevale's apprenticeship scheme, "which introduces a new generation of young people to the world of work, as well as the world of gardening".

The Read family said it had always ensured that any developments at the centre had been made with their customers in mind, and thanked "our wonderful team for all they have done for us".

The new deal comes hot on the heels of Wyevale's acquisition of Raglan Garden Centre in Raglan, Monmouthshire and Trelawney's garden centre at Ashford, near Barnstaple in north Devon, last month.