Wyevale Garden Centres sells five of its largest garden centres to Dobbies
Published: 8 October 2018 - Kiran Grewal
Wyevale Garden Centres (WGC) has announced the sale of five garden centres to Dobbies Garden Centres. The centres include Gloucester; Heighley Gate; Huntingdon; Woodbridge and Woodlands.
Chief Executive of WGC, Roger Mclaughlan said: “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of five of our largest centres to Dobbies, one of the UK’s biggest and most experienced garden centre operators. We would like to thank our great colleagues at these centres, who have been central to our turnaround in the past few years and wish them well for the next stage of their growth and development under Dobbies’ ownership.”
Chief executive officer of Dobbies Garden Centres, Graeme Jenkins said: “The acquisition of these five centres is in line with our strategic growth plan for Dobbies. We are looking forward to welcoming our new team members and to working with them to develop the centres over the years to come.”
The acquisition brings more than 400 team members to Dobbies and takes the garden centre retailer’s estate to 39 centres across the UK.
The five centres are all larger destination garden centres, similar in size to the nine centres sold to Blue Diamond in July. WGC has received a significant number of offers for all or part of the remaining WGC business from national, regional and financial operators as well as local entrepreneurs, with the most recent sold centres being Croydon Purley Way, Sidmouth, Solihull and Windsor, which was sold less than two weeks ago.
The sale is expected to complete in late October with the centres reopening as Dobbies soon after.
Chief financial officer of WGC, Anthony Jones said: “Since the launch of the sale process in May we have already sold 23 centres and are currently evaluating a wide range of competitive offers from group buyers, regional operators and local entrepreneurs. We look forward to further positive discussions with all potential buyers.”
Managing director of Christie & Co, Darren Bond said: “Since the start of the WGC sale process, the opportunity to run one, a small group or a portfolio of garden centres has ignited interest within the sector and beyond. We are delighted to have supported the sale of these five centres to Dobbies, meaning we have now exchanged on 28 sites as part of the sale process.”