Colemans Garden Centre at Templepatrick in Co. Antrim has doubled its workforce to 100 following completion of a  £5 million expansion project that added 32,000 sq.ft of retail space.

MD Richard Fry said the development, which includes new concessions and a farm shop, had propelled the Northern Ireland garden centre sector 20 years into the future, emulating the approach of operators on mainland UK.

“Garden centres in Northern Ireland and Ireland have been years behind what’s happening in England,” he said. “Where we are now is where they were 20 years ago. Now in England you have farm shops in motorway service stations and what we have done here in Colemans has by-passed the last 20 years and brought our garden centre right up to date.”

 He said the centre had a loyal customer base and was also targeting tourism as a secondary source of growth.

He said the garden centre business had evolved in recent years due to competition from the internet and supermarkets. “Twenty years ago, people just wanted a cup of coffee and a bun, but now they’re looking for meals, freshly cooked on the premises, so that’s the line we have gone down,” he said.  “Garden centres, to survive, have upped their game.”