In This Issue
Centres stock up on plants and growing media pre-Brexit and Easter
Are you ready for a bumper March?
Chief Executive sought for Brechin Garden Centre
Indoor and outdoor furniture collections by Daro
Primeur launch new display stands for their recycled rubber stepping stones in Blue Diamond
Still time to get involved in Garden Re-Leaf Day campaign
Mr Fothergill’s target £10,000 barrier for Garden Re-Leaf
New farm shop and garden centre planned for Chudleigh
Horticultural Rising Stars have until Friday 1st March to enter
Sarah Squire takes over from dad as chairman
Locals split over plans to modernise mid-Devon garden centre
New Horizon BIO3 composts arrive in garden centres
Garden centre lends support to cat rescue centre
CJ Wildlife website adds live streaming from nesting boxes
Happy Plants teams with SmartPlant on digital care info
Pugh's sell-out Christmas grotto raises £12k for charity
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Primula sales doubled prior to half term
New chair for Growing Media Association
Growing media sales at the double
Chris Gladwin becomes new Decco Chesham Manager
Core gardening gets a lift
Wild Bird Care sales up by 22%
HTA to stage one-day sustainability forum
Common Sense Gardening group signs long-term PR deal
The best of last week's
Sell-off cash is critical to WGC's survival
Klondyke brings outdoor living to life at showcase event
Treadstone Products enjoys success at GCA conference
Choice appoints Terry Maywood as non-executive chairman
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering
Casual Dining’s drinks menu set to refresh the nation
Send us your news and great ideas

Contact us with your news. 

Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700






Sell-off cash is critical to WGC's survival
GTN Newshound sticks his nose into the latest accounts

Woof woof! GTN Newshound here, back from yet another foray through the dark afforested territory known as Wyevale Garden Centres. Yes, hound-lovers, it’s still there, despite the best efforts of its parent, Terra Firma, to find good homes for everybody.

 

Although the two sets of 2017 accounts published recently (one for WGC Capital, the trading arm, and the other for WGC Holdings, the real estate and employment contracts arm, with neither set available, as they used to be, on the WGC website) are as impenetrable as corporate accounts inevitably end up (unless you’re an FD), these steered my moist little scout-snout towards what you could call ‘insights’.

 

The accounts themselves, which show a loss for the year-ended December 2017 of £116m and an operating loss for the year of £60.4m (mostly one-off write-downs of the value of non-cash assets), include ‘post-accounts’ financial statements chronicling the fortunes of the group during the following year, in which Terra Firma’s Guy Hands announced (on 22 May 2018) that WGC was for sale.

 

Companies House rules dictate that large businesses must make honest and, as far as possible, accurate declarations about their forward viability.

 

Under the ‘going concern’ sub-heading, the notes are pretty unequivocal about the cash flow risks the group faces unless it continues to find buyers for its remaining 99 garden centres.

 

The directors seem pretty happy with ‘Wyvexit’ so far, having realised £183m from the sale of 43 sites (excluding the six latest disposals to British Garden Centres and Rochmills). They are apparently also cheered by interest from potential purchasers of the rest of the group as an entity.

 

Debt has come down and there’s cash in the bank (£17.6m plus £2.7m cash in transit). Enough, then, barring unforeseen mishaps, to help the group meet its liabilities and keep a hound’s tail wagging softly (if unenthusiastically).

 

But then comes the warning about “material uncertainty” caused by the ongoing sell-off , potential Brexit issues, the weather-related volatility and unpredictable consumer sentiment. These, says the statement, “may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore, to continue realising its assets and discharging its liabilities”. The statement makes it clear that the key requirement is that future disposals are successfully concluded.

 

In other words, it looks like the WGC ship is sailing much closer to the wind than the directors would wish.

Despite this, credit analysts Experian upgraded WGC’s credit risk rating to “below average” last week. Newshound asked three suppliers for their reaction to that news. They said:

  1. “We’ll see…”
  2. “They’re tough, but they always pay.”
  3. “We don’t supply them any more. We probably got out in time.”

No-one wished to be named.

 

So there we have it, my little hound followers. Woof woof! from your loyal servant.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Del.icio.us Digg | Comment (0)
Comment
Name:*

Email Address:*

Comment:*