Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co has announced the sale of Whitehall Garden Centre Woodborough, near Pewsey, to local entrepreneurs and new industry entrants Ranu Limited.
The business has been run by the Self family for many years, who also own the larger Lacock Garden Centre, near Chippenham, which the family will continue to run following the sale of their Whitchurch centre to Otter Garden Cenres last month.
Claire Self, Director of Whitehall Garden Centres, commented, “When we made the decision to sell our Woodborough centre, it was important to us as a family to find the right buyer who will continue the store as a garden centre and keep our existing staff in their roles.
“We would like to thank all our dedicated and hard-working staff who have been part of the Whitehall team for many years, and we wish them all the best with the new direction of the store and the future.
“We would also like to thank all our loyal customers who have visited the centre over the years and supported us as a business and family.”
The garden centre at Woodborough occupies a large site and has a popular farm shop, restaurant and extensive garden centre offering.
The new owners have a background in childcare businesses, but this acquisition marks their first venture into the garden centre industry. The father-and-daughter team plan to run the business with a long-term goal to continue improving and developing the business.
Raj Kumar commented, “After almost 20 years of operating exclusively within the education sector, the time had come to diversify. This acquisition of Woodborough Garden Centre marks our first move into retail and garden centres with a commitment to upholding the prestigious reputation Whitehall has built over the years.
“Throughout this process, the support from Whitehall has been invaluable. With their continued efforts working closely alongside us, from the preliminary discussions to post-completion, it meant we always had what we needed to feel well-prepared and assured at every stage. And a huge thank you to Tom from Christie & Co for supporting and facilitating this journey.
“Woodborough Garden Centre will continue as a family-run business with strong community roots as established by Whitehall. The team on the ground has also cultivated a fantastic culture which we intend to build upon as we move forward. We look forward to welcoming both our existing and new customers in this exciting new chapter.”
Tom Glanvill, Director – Garden Centres at Christie & Co, added, “Woodborough is a lovely garden centre that offers locals an independent and family-run farm shop, restaurant and excellent horticulture-focused garden centre. I am very pleased that we have sold this to local buyers who have the desire and drive to take the business forward. I see huge potential here, and this transaction highlights the continued demand we are seeing for garden centres, with this being the third garden centre sale that we have completed in August.”
