Wyevale Garden Centres have posted increased sales, operating profit and gross margins for 2014 – and are predicting further growth through acquisition and full implementation of multi-channel retailing.

Sales in the year to 28 December were up 5% to £290m – the majority of the growth driven by acquisitions, including the 2013 addition of three centres plus the Garden & Leisure chain as well as the nine additions made in the accounting year.

Concession income provided a notable highlight, rising £3.8m to £18.1m as concession numbers rose from 478 to 566, a trend that looks set to continue. Wyevale say they are identifying non-core categories where the stable rental income from concessioning is more profitable than offering these products directly, despite the overall retail revenue reduction.

Operating profit increased last year from £22m to £34.1m while gross margin went up 3.3 per cent to 56.5 per cent, largely as a result of a focus on the supplier tendering process and central hub distribution, improvements in cost control, stock wastage reduction at centres and steps to drive down the cost of back office support functions.

The annual report says a key event over the next twelve months will be the launch of a full multi-channel offering which, with home delivery and Click-and-Collect, will offer easier shopping.

The group spent £28.3m on acquisitions and £34.6 million on capital expenditure across an improvement programme in 31 stores.

The report says the best indicator of progress in the group is the increased EBITDA of £56.1m – but net debt was also up from £273.1m in 2013 to £335.7m.