Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has launched its annual Business Outlook report, 'Business Outlook 2025', which reflects on key market activity, trends and challenges of 2024 and forecasts what 2025 might bring across the industries in which Christie & Co operates, including the garden centre sector.

The report reveals that in the first half of 2024, Christie & Co transacted more garden centres than in the whole of 2023 and by the end of the year it had completed 19 transactions; the highest number since the Wyevale Garden Centre disposals in 2018. Transactions included a mixture of large corporate disposals, smaller independent sites and high-profile heritage brands.

According to data revealed in the report, more than 50 per cent of all garden centres sold in 2024 were purchased by new market entrants, with over 90 per cent of the transactions being on a freehold basis. Additionally, the report revealed that the garden centre market remains active, with a 40 per cent increase in the number of viewings and new instructions in 2024. Christie & Co’s Garden Centre team provided market-leading advice for over 170 garden centres in 2024, cementing their position as market leaders within the sector.

The report also outlines Christie & Co's market predictions for the year ahead, which are:

• Our involvement in the re-letting of a number of high-profile Dobbies Garden Centres will see a higher percentage of leasehold transactions than in previous years. It is not symptomatic of a structure change in the market though as for the most part these centres will be re-let to other major garden centre groups.
• 2024 was impacted by poor weather and a very wet spring and summer; sales of big-ticket items such as garden furniture will likely be stronger in 2025
• 2024 saw more garden centre sales for Christie & Co and it is expected that there will be similar or higher volumes of transactions based on current pipelines
• Garden centre groups will continue to expand through acquisition
• It is anticipated that the cost of borrowing will continue to fall in 2025 which should make funding garden centre acquisitions cheaper than in 2024
• The impact of government changes to the planning system could make alternative uses easier for garden centres and plant nursery buyers; this will continue to drive demand for freehold sites with short- or longer-term alternative use potential

Tom Glanvill, Director – Garden Centres at Christie & Co comments, “In 2024 we handled the sale of a number of the best-known brands in the garden centre market and dealt with some of the largest transactions in recent years, including the group sale of Langlands garden centres. Interestingly, a number of the businesses sold were primarily online retailers, including Peter Beales and Hayloft Plants, which shows buyer demand for good retail businesses, not just traditional bricks and mortar. Our business Outlook report also includes interesting insights into who is buying garden centres and how they are being funded.”

Click here to read the full report: https://www.christie.com/news-resources/business-outlook-2025/retail/