A tougher economic environment with inflation rising above 10% and energy costs escalating significantly during the year led to a more challenging trading year at Notcutts.

The well documented increase in energy costs and wider cost of living crisis impacted consumer confidence and this, coupled with adverse weather conditions across the spring and summer gardening seasons, inevitably impacted sales and profit in the year.

Notcutts acquired the freehold of Brampton Garden Centre (formerly Frosts) on 1st August 2022 to bring the number of garden centres in the group to 19.

Nick Burrows, Chief Executive said: “The integration of Brampton into Notcutts has gone smoothly and we are very pleased with this acquisition.”

Notcutts like-for-like turnover (excluding the Brampton Garden Centre) at £73.5m was 7.7% down on the previous year. Total turnover was £75.6m. Lower sales, a reduction in margin levels in some categories and significant external cost pressures meant that operating profits fell to £0.5m in the year.

Commenting on these results, Nick Burrows, Chief Executive said: “Following several years of robust trading we believe we are well placed to withstand the current economic challenges. Our horticultural heritage and foundations are strong and we continue to provide an expanding, attractive gardening and leisure proposition that our customers rate highly – as seen with our highest ever customer satisfaction (NPS) scores in the year. We expect trading to rebound well as economic conditions improve.”

Nick Burrows added: “We plan to maintain our focus on developing our garden centre portfolio to support the ongoing profitability of the business. This will include the completion of a project to restore the beautiful Messenger glasshouses at our Dukeries garden centre near Worksop, and the next phases of redevelopment projects in Oxford and Woodbridge. New investments are also planned in renewable energy including solar and EV charging installations, where we have collaborations with Push Energy and Osprey, as part of our extensive programme of initiatives to deliver carbon reduction goals.”

Caroline Notcutt, Vice Chairman talked of the importance that Notcutts places on a positive company culture, particularly at a time of tougher trading conditions. “We see engagement with colleagues at all levels within the business as a high priority, and we achieve this through a variety of means. These include surveys, listening groups, meetings and conferences, newsletters and regular visits by senior leaders to garden centres.”

Caroline Notcutt added: “A programme of monthly and annual awards allow us to recognise and celebrate the achievements of colleagues and these are featured in our regular internal newsletter. An increasing range of online training and development resources now supplement in person training and are at the heart of our approach to leadership and personal development for colleagues. I am particularly pleased with our comprehensive new programme of training and development in horticultural skills and leadership.”

Bridget McIntyre, Chairman, Notcutts, explained: “Our garden centres and support office work closely with our local communities supporting various charities and schools. We are into the second year of our collaboration with an innovative charity organisation, The Green Light Trust, whose mission is to ensure everyone has equitable access to the power of nature. They support people of all ages, who are often the most vulnerable in our communities, through organised outdoor activities in woodlands and green spaces. Alongside this we have forged strong partnerships with a number of external organisations to ensure a range of wellbeing services are in place for our colleagues should they need to draw on such support.”

Turning to Notcutts environmental strategy, Nick Burrows commented: “We have a clear policy and set of goals on biodiversity, sustainability and the environment which detail the steps we are taking to make progress in these areas. We are aligned to both the HTA and BRC roadmaps. Carbon reduction targets have been established across a range of areas within the business.”

Burrows added: “We have introduced additional programmes to reduce waste, mains water usage and energy consumption. We are now achieving an average monthly reduction in our electricity and gas usage of 15% which will help us save 388 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the coming year. Last year, working with Veolia, we achieved a 15% reduction in mixed waste (non-recyclable) which will help save 16.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the coming year. These are just two examples of the types of carbon reduction initiatives we have across many areas of our business where, in collaboration with Planet Mark, we have identified specific targets for carbon reductions. Our focus on biodiversity is also continuing and we are introducing new green spaces in all our garden centres for customers and colleagues to enjoy and where animals, birds and insects can thrive.”

For more information visit www.notcutts.co.uk