Rutland Garden Centre has been put on the market after the owners secured planning permission for a new £300,000 sales area.
The centre, on Ashwell Road, Oakham, has been granted permission to build a 580sq m retail shop and extend the car park to include 40 more spaces.

Director Chris Hamilton, whose parents Brian and Ruby own the centre, said the development would create "numerous" new jobs, and had the potential to double turnover.

Speaking to DIY Week, he explained: "We're mainly a garden centre that just sells plants at the moment. Three quarters of our sales are from plants and compost, but now we'll actually be able to compete with other garden centres with more modern shops.

"We have got a retail village next door to the garden centre already and this is the last bit of the overall extension plan. This was just the last bit to make the garden centre complete."

The business has also bought three acres of land at the back of the centre, and now has permission to use it for storage, display sales and unloading lorries.

However, Mr Hamilton, who came into the business 20 years ago, says it won't be the present owners who will be undertaking the actual development. "The garden centre is on the market and we're hoping to sell. My mum and dad are retiring and I've been working to build it up for them to sell it. It's their business and they deserve to reap the benefits of it and have a happy retirement."