The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, The Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, met with the Mercer family who own Hillmount, a portfolio of garden centres in Belfast, Ards, Bangor and Cheshire. 

Fourth generation owners of the family business, Robin, Edith and Alan Mercer, welcomed the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to their flagship garden lifestyle store in the Castlereagh Hills, in east Belfast, where they spoke with him about the impact of Brexit on their business and their hopes for the opportunities the Windsor Framework may bring to the day-to-day operations. 

Robin Mercer said: "We were honoured to welcome Chris Heaton-Harris to visit us at Hillmount. 

“We have been lobbying the government since Brexit began to cause problems with the great relationships we had built up over 50-plus years with our suppliers in GB. 

“As a family business, meeting customer demand is our priority and we look forward to any strides the government can make in helping us to do business easier so we can stock the plants and giftware that our customers want to see on our shelves.”