Cambridge garden centre operator Scotsdale will aim to double the turnover at their proposed Horningsea acquisition, GTN Xtra has learned.

Notcutts Garden Centres confirmed this week that they were negotiating with Scotsdales over the sale of the Cambridgeshire site. Completion is planned for 1 October 2013.

Scotsdales MD Caroline Owen (pictured) said she had approached Notcutts with an offer to buy “to strengthen our position in the Cambridge area”. The deal will give Scotsdales it’s third centre, with coverage both north and south of the city. They also own Fordham Garden Centre, near Ely, to the east.

Their nearest major competitor is Polhill’s Coton site to the west of the M11 near junction 13.

Mrs Owen says she will be targeting turnover of around £3m at the Notcutts site – almost double its current £1.6m.

Notcutts bought the site, previously Ansells Garden Centre, in 2003.

Like Notcutts, Scotsdales is a family owned business and has been operating in the Cambridge area for more than 40 years. Their HQ centre at Great Shelford is one of the UK’s largest single site independents, with an annual turnover in excess of £14m.

The proposed sale is considered represent a good opportunity for all parties. No redundancies are planned.

Meanwhiole, Notcutts say acquisition is still a key objective for their business. They say there are “several conversations ongoing with regards to the growth of the company and its sites”.

Andrew Staff, finance difrector and interim CEO at Notcutts, said: “When Scotsdales expressed an interest in the centre they made it clear that they were committed to the investment needed to develop the site. We feel this would be positive for the centre and being family owned means that Scotsdales would be a good fit for our colleagues working there”.