In This Issue
Bents and The Old Railway Line win top awards at GCA Conference
Pictures from GCA Conference themed-party night
Top awards for garden centres at GCA conference
'Orse Racin' gets GCA Conference off to a head start
With Wyevale Garden Centres CEO and trading director set to depart, the plot thickens…
Azpects launch consumer range retailers have asked for
Happy start to the New Year, says GTN Bestsellers
What were the bestselling garden products of 2018?
Hilliers burlgars caught on CCTV
Nursery's printed blue pots resolve kerbside recycling issue.
Hare Hatch Sheeplands owner’s delight over court decision
Zest 4 Leisure smashes charity fundraising target
LOFAssured achieves 100% success rate
Karen awarded BEM for services to Cub Scouts
Contractors appointed for Tong GC's £4m development
What to expect at Glee at Spring Fair 2019
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
GIMA-LOFA seminar will bring you up to speed on working with agents
Garden lighting sales sparkle at start of the year
Early Bird gardeners get growing
Know your bestselling onions
Chirpy start for Wild Bird Care
Flying start to the year for plant sales
The best of last week's
Roger Mclaughlan set to leave as Wyevale GC announces management changes
Noma celebrate 80 years in glitzy style
GTN Bestsellers reveal the Top 100 Christmas products for 2018
Work begins on transformation of Notcutts Ditchling
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Spotlight on sustainability and efficiency at biggest ever Commercial Kitchen Show
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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700






With Wyevale Garden Centres CEO and trading director set to depart, the plot thickens…
The loss of two key executives heightens the intrigue at Wyevale Garden Centres.  GTNXtra explores the implications

With Wyevale Garden Centres CEO and trading director leaving at the end of the month, a big question mark inevitably hangs over the prospect of Wyevale Garden Centres existing as a group by the end of this year.

 

CEO Roger Mclaughlan told GTN back in June that he was hopeful a buyer would want to keep a group of around 60-70 centres trading as Wyevale Garden Centres, with his key point being that they would all be of a similar size and therefore simpler to run.

 

His imminent departure, along with trading director Paul Emslie, either means Justin King, who switches from non-executive director to an executive role, and Anthony Jones, who has been promoted from CFO to CEO, have a completely different view of the future or that a purchaser for 60-70 similar sized centres cannot be found and that the rest of the group will now be sold off piece-meal over the coming months, like the 40 sold to date. Some believe that King’s role on the board could be a temporary arrangement to speed up the next phase, whatever that might involve.

 

Rumours abound that another deal involving five centres will be announced imminently and several other garden centre operators have hinted that Christies, Terra Firma’s ‘auctioneers’, have been back in touch with them.

 

However, visitors to the Wyevale suppliers trade show this week were reporting a positive, even excited, mood in the WGC camp, with suggestions that the company has plans for the group, as distinct from further sell-offs.

 

So far everyone we’ve talked to who has purchased a garden centre from Wyevale has told us that sales have increased, footfall has grown, customers and staff are amazed by the price drops on plants and products when moving from Wyevale pricing to independent pricing. Some have added staff, increasing local employment; most importantly, employees inherited from Wyevale are really passionate about what they do and are delighted to be working with their new owners.

 

At Harrogate Christmas & Gift this week, GTN posed the question to several new owners of previously Wyevale centres: where is all this sales growth coming from?  Whose market share are you stealing? Unanimously, they replied that it is just having the stock there, at the right price plus good merchandising in pleasant surroundings, that is driving sales. This must be at the expense, during the pre-Christmas season, of the high street and other retailers.

 

But as we move into the spring gardening season, will these revitalised ex-Wyevale centres start taking sales from other retailers of garden products, including garden centres, DIY stores, country stores and the like?

 

We’ve tried largely to avoid speculation in GTN Xtra about how the Wyevale “Sale of the Century” will end up – but this latest move is full of intrigue.  Chelsea Flower Show 2019 is only five months away.  May we expect an announcement from Terra Firma boss Guy Hands then that the disposal of Wyevale has finally been completed?

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