In This Issue
Very last chance to enter the 2021 GIMA Awards
Garden Centre sales slow as we wait for some Summer weather
RocketGro see massive rise in sales of their 100% Peat Free, Vegan, Organic Soil Improver and Chemical Free liquid plant feed
Europlants founder Renato Canale dies, aged 78
One year on from Lockdown #1
BGC join in the "fun" at Harrogate Flower Show
Peat free up by 452%
Garden centre customers keen to sample horticultural hospitality as restaurants welcome guests back indoors
Vitax donation transforms hospital’s Secret Garden
Plant sales still 200% up
Call for innovation in recycled plastic products
Take advantage of the rise in demand for garden rooms with Windowlink software
Bloomin Amazing lands at Dobbies
Perrywood Tiptree’s Coffee Shop & Restaurant team purchase 130 fans for Colchester Hospital
Employment scheme to help you find the ideal candidate for your next vacancy
New packaging for Empathy’s natural granular feeds
Sustainable decking brand launches nationwide recycling initiative for schools
Wyevale Nurseries receives Plant Healthy Certification for high biosecurity standards
Unprecedented Demand - Record Easter garden centre sales lead to stock shortages - Read GTN's April issue on-line now
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Re-elected GIMA President Simon McArdle thanks retail customers
Lighting up garden sales
Keukenhof is closed; in full bloom but no visitors
Veg outshines all plant sales
HTA responds to England Trees Action Plan
The best of last week's
Government publishes plan to ban peat sales by 2024
Industry prepares for a peat-less future
Blue Diamond top £200m turnover and commit to Chelsea garden
Two London locations announced for little dobbies
Fargro Ltd set to bloom in 2021 under new management
Barton Grange Christmas 2020 - Exclusive GTN Xtra Photo Tour
Squires Badshot Lea - Christmas 2020
Perrywood at Christmas 2020 - with correct photo gallery now...
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All the latest news from the world of pet products
Fish4Pets launches puppy treats range
Increase in sales helps Wilsons Pet Food donate over 20,000 meals to rescue centres
46% of dog owners dreading return to work
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Blue Diamond top £200m turnover and commit to Chelsea garden

Blue Diamond have reported a record year in their 2020 Report and Accounts with profit before tax up 64% to £23.5m on sales up 11% to £201m and they have also announced the Garden Centre Group will be designing an Artisan Garden at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show when it returns in September (20-26th September).

 

Blue Diamond Chairman Simon Burke said: "Our year end net debt was just £5.3m which is 0.2 times EBITDA and a gearing ratio of 4%. Shareholders will have seen from our various updates the roller-coaster nature of the year, but the key factor producing these results has been the sustained strong garden centre trading, focused on plants and garden products, that we saw from the end of the first lockdown in May 2020 right up to Christmas. Overall, this produced an 11% increase in sales, whilst like-for-like sales were flat year on year.


"Within this, however, garden centre sales grew by 24% (12% like-for-like) whereas restaurant sales fell by 42% (46% like-for-like). Once again, the ex-Wyevale stores were the best performers, with garden centre sales growth averaging 25% across the year.

 

"Our experience of 2020 has left us confident in the future prospects for Blue Diamond. Our strong cash position will enable us to resume investment in our estate, in particular

to continue the process of upgrading the ex- Wyevale stores which has been so beneficial to date, but also including major investment into some of our core centres, starting with
Newbridge in 2021."
 
MD, Alan Roper, adds: "Our like for like garden centre sales increase was 9.7% up against the industry (GCA) performance of 2.7%. However, the restaurants were closed for five months last year, meaning restaurant like-for-like sales dropped by 46%, reducing the gross profit contribution against budget by £14.1m. This deficit was partly offset by the government business support initiatives, which totalled £10.1m.

"The year ended with a very successful Christmas trading period, which saw sales up 29% compared to the industry (GCA) average performance of 10.5%.

"Later this year in 2021 the ground will be broken to make way for two new Blue Diamond centres. One at Scotch Corner and the other on the Elveden Estate in Suffolk.

"Finally, my thanks to the extraordinary efforts, commitment and loyalty made by our employees in this extraordinary, challenging year."

Read the full Blue Diamond 2020 Report and Accounts here

Today, (Monday 17th May) the Blue Diamond Group has announced it will be designing an Artisan Garden at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show when it returns in September (20-26th September). 

The Blue Diamond Forge Garden (pictured above) is a collaborative design by the team at The Blue Diamond Group who have combined their expertise to create their first garden at the show. The team are working alongside multi-medal winning landscaper, Ross Conquest and his team Conquest Creative Spaces for the construction of the garden.

The garden celebrates the artisan craft of Blacksmithing, inspired by the National Trust’s Branscombe Forge in Devon, which dates back to the 15th Century and continues to operate today. The Blue Diamond Forge Garden in effect is a historical record of Blacksmiths through the ages, a place to feel relaxed, inspired, a functional forge set in a very naturalistic, yet practical setting.

The Garden features a thatched roofed forge built from natural material, containing art and artefacts from previous blacksmiths.  A garden full of wildflowers surrounds the forge providing inspiration for the resident Blacksmith’s metalwork whilst edible plants, medicinal herbs and a stream that flows through the garden provides food and water. Bespoke pieces of art created by today’s Blacksmiths at Branscombe Forge will complete the gardens authentic feel.

Alan Roper said: “We have exhibited in many RHS shows over the years under our Fryer’s Roses brand, however we are proud and excited to be creating our first Blue Diamond garden at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year. “  

“As a company The Blue Diamond Group recognises and cherishes its heritage, whilst evolving to be relevant to today’s customer.  Creativity is very much at the heart of our retail ethos in our centres throughout the UK and Channel Islands. As a team, we wanted to create a garden that represents the ethos of The Blue Diamond Group which we have done by taking inspiration for the garden from the artisan craft of Blacksmithing and the National Trust’s historic Branscombe Forge where I have personally visited many times over the past 40 years!”  

The Blue Diamond Group Team behind the Blue Diamond Forge Garden include Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond, James Nuttall Head of Plants, Jill Kerr Events Manager and Rose Category Manager, Kevin Fleming Plant Manager and Anna King Creative Visual Merchandiser. 

 

 

 

 

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