The boss of The Garden Centre Group, which has bought a total of 11 centres in the past year, has revealed that the company will continue to grow at a similar rate over the next two or three years.

Kevin Bradshaw, who became CEO of TGCG in November 2012, told GTN: “It’s a fragmented industry, and as the market leader we’re still relatively small compared to the overal market. I can see significant growth from this point forwards.

“This isn’t about The Garden Centre Group driving growth at the expense of others. A lot of the investment we are putting into the business serves the purpose of growing the overall industry itself – that’s got to be good for our competitors and suppliers.”

TGCG is owned by Terra Firma and among its acquisitions in 2013 was the Garden & Leisure group of centres. 

“Terra Firma is a fabulous shareholder and has been very supportive of growing and improving the business,” said Kevin. “Although I can’t speak for their exit plans, I can say that Terra Firma’s interests and those of the management team are aligned and we have been working very hard together to transform this business.

“Our vision is to be the UK’s favourite, most inspiring destination for garden, home and leisure. We’ve got to inspire customers when they walk through the door.”

Meanwhile, Marketing Director Sarah Fuller admitted: “We’re looking at the branding of the company. We’ve got a portfolio of strong brands within the group and we’ve been looking at how we’re going to use them."

The full interview with Kevin Bradshaw can be found in the July issue of Garden Trade News.