Solus Garden & Leisure have gone into administration, it was announced this afternoon.

Rob Hunt and Tony Barrell of PwC have been appointed joint administrators, ending weeks of speculation about the company’s future. They say a number of potential purchasers have already expressed interest.

A statement from PwC said Solus had been seeking additional investment following “difficult trading conditions” in late 2013 and had approached a range of third parties. “However, whilst considerable interest was shown in the business, no offers provided a solvent outcome and as a result, the directors have decided to place the Company into administration.”

Talks with one potential partner, Scotts, broke down last month at an advanced stage of negotiations.

Solus, whose head office is at Hunnington, Worcestershire, had turnover of £29.3m in the six months to 30 March 2014. It has a workforce of 250.

Its key wholesaling operation is complemented by a range of well-known brands, including Yeoman, Joseph Bentley, ChapelWood, Garden Nation, Botanico and Bermuda.

Tony Barrell said PwC’s immediate priority was to engage with employees, key customers and suppliers so Solus could continue to trade. This, he believed, was achievable. Employees would continue to be paid “for work done prior to our appointment and whilst they continue to work”.

He added: “We are hopeful of securing a sale and there are already a number of parties interested in purchasing the business.”

Smart Solar has reorganised its sales team to manage the sharp increase in sales of its products with garden centres this season and in anticipation of new product launches planned for 2015.

Paul Knott now has full responsibility for the garden centre sector as Director - Garden Centre Sales, and will be dedicated exclusively to this key area of the business.

At head office, Sam Hayter and Cait Brogden have been appointed to the sales support team to ensure that trade customers continue to receive outstanding levels of customer service. From order taking to delivery and beyond, these new appointments will help the office administration team to provide an efficient service to garden centres and additional support to the field based sales managers. 

Paul Knott commented: “As the company continues to grow and add new products to our ranges it is essential that we reflect this success by growing our office support team to ensure that customers continue to get the very best service.

"I am very proud to be leading the garden centre team and look forward to an exciting few months as we get into the summer season, and planning the addition of new product categories for next season.”

Young representatives of the horticultural industry are preparing to take part in the next round of the Garden Centre Association’s 2014 Rising Stars Programme next month.

The second of three masterclasses to be held throughout the year will take place at Westland Horticulture in Peterborough on Thursday, June 5.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, explained: “The first masterclass included a session on merchandising, opportunities for business growth and managing the seasons to make maximum sales and profits.

“The second round will see all of the candidates put what they’ve learnt to the test. They will also receive more extensive coaching and mentoring on working in the horticultural industry and we’re hoping to arrange a trip to Van Hage Garden Centre in Peterborough on the day too.”

Twenty-eight candidates are taking part in the competition, sponsored by Westland Horticulture, and from the original 28, just 10 will then be selected in September to take part in the third round.

From those 10, five will be chosen as finalists to attend the GCA Conference in Chester in January.

Iain added: “At our conference they will make a presentation on what they have achieved during the year. A winner will then be chosen by conference delegates before being presented with his or her prize at the GCA’s annual gala dinner on Tuesday, January 27, 2015.”

The GCA Rising Stars 2014 Programme has received a record number of entries from garden centre staff looking to get ahead in the world of horticultural retailing.

The initiative is now in its sixth year and has been welcomed by the industry and participants alike.

The next masterclass will be held on Thursday, June 5 and the third on Thursday, September 11. The venue for the third masterclass is yet to be confirmed.

For further information call 0118 930 8918, visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-Centre-Association orfollow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.

Or will the rest of May send sales soaring into summer? For the first time in two months garden centre total sales volumes have dropped seriously below last year’s levels, according to Epos data analysed by GTN Bestsellers.

The week that ended on the Sunday of the May Day Bank Holiday weekend was down 21% on the same week last year. GTN Bestsellers has been doing some ‘midseason’ analysis and the chart (below) of monthly sales volumes over the past six years indicates that 2014 is much more of a ‘normal’ year, similar to those we had in 2009 and 2010.

That bodes well for the rest of the year, but May is usually the biggest month of the first half of the year in terms of garden centre sales volumes, so it is all to play for, especially when many of this month’s sales items are outdoor products.

Cumulatively, this year’s sales totals are running higher than the previous two years, but we shouldn’t get carried away – we’re only on a par with volumes achieved in 2009 and 7% behind the volumes in 2011.

A check on the Met office website tells us that April 2011 was particularly warm, which may account for the high sales levels, and then we had a really wet May in the North and West and a particularly dry one in the South and East.

We now need a warmer than usual May everywhere with some rain, but not too much. Shall we all start praying now?

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year

• Garden Products – down 18%
  
• Veg-2-Gro – down 30%
  
• Growing Media – down 35%
  
• All items index – down 21%

Make use of the GTN Bestsellers volume sales Top 50 product charts every week, get regular analysis updates and our unique, guaranteed sales increasing, GTN Bestsellers Tip of the Week by subscribing to GTN Bestsellers.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or use this link to buy on-line

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2012 as well as 2013 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £145.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most upto date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for last week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Products Bestsellers chart for last week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.