What do we know about Kevin Bradshaw, The Garden Centre Group’s new CEO, who takes up his post on Monday week? He’s quite high profile, so if you dig around, it won't take you long to discover that the man whom Terra Firma have tasked with taking TGCG to the next level is a seriously big gun.

His tenure of the MD’s chair at Avis UK has been well-documented. It cemented his reputation as a turnaround expert, following a major transformation of the car rental company’s operating business on these shores.

He knows all about the media, too, so you can expect him to bring his 10 years experience at Reuters, latterly as MD of the Enterprise Information Division, to bear on internal and external communications at TGCG.

His early career with Kalchas Group of strategy consultants gave him skills in delivering projects to retailers, so he will be familiar with the development challenges faced by large retail groups.

Terra Firma made it clear that their new man should know how to handle a major multi-site business with a large workforce. The UK Avis and Budget business employed 1,500 people across 210 sites so there are parallels on a TGCG scale. After all, the group’s non-executive chairman, Stephen Murphy, is on record as saying he envisages adding up to 70 more big garden centres.

At this stage, Mr Bradshaw doesn’t need to know much about gardening (in the organic sense), but apparently, he has a John Deere tractor in his garage, so it’s fair to assume he has a garden with a big lawn. And as we all know, the garden centre industry can become addictive….

§Two things you probably didn't know about Kevin Bradshaw: his first job was washing down machinery in a frozen chip factory – and he is reported to have said his ideal celebrity date would be Charlize Theron.

(§Courtesy of Business Car. Use this link to see their Q&A: http://www.businesscar.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3308)

Business analysts Plimsoll claim to have identified more than two dozen thriving garden centres ripe for acqusition by ambitious buyers seeking growth.

They say there has never been a better time to seek out an acquisition – but buyers should favour high-value companies rather than weaker businesses.

Plimsoll’s latest study embraces the UK’s largest 659 garden centre companies and identifies 136 they describe as “classic acquisitions –  underperforming businesses that predators would usually look for”.

They advise buyers to broaden their horizons and look instead at the 26 high value businesses that would be more likely to give a faster return on investment.

David Pattison, Plimsoll’s chief analyst, said there were plenty of companies that needed capital and would welcome investment. “Distress sales have dominated the market in recent years as strong companies have looked to take over weaker companies and exploit ailing businesses,” he said. “But it is now time for a change in strategy. There are 26 firms in the garden centres industry that buyers should be looking at.”

He says these are all privately owned, have increases in sales over the previous year, are debt free and are showing excellent profits - qualities that make them attractive acquisitions. “Taking over a weak company takes time, is diverting and is a high risk. But these high value acquisitions would immediately add value to your bottom line as well as give you instant power in the market,” he said.

Buying one would mean “quick access into a fast-growing market” and  instant power – “essentially forcing many of your already-weakened competitors out of the game”.

Pattison suggests their potentially high price premium would be worth paying in the search for growth.

For more information, go to: www.plimsoll.co.uk or call 01642 626419. Readers of GTN Xtra are entitled to a £50 discount when they buy this report, quoting reference PR/AA34.

• Gardman LED Light String Starlight 50 lights, a re-entry at No 22.
• Gardman Solar Mosaic Border Lights at No 28.
• Smart Solar Owl Light at No 37 and Smart Solar Happy Hens Spotlights at No 38.
• Gardman Round Rattan Lantern at No 45.

‘Eddie Grundy’ and ‘Kathy Perks’ from BBC Radio 4’s longest-running soap series, Gthe Archers, are to join the celebrity line-up at The  Edible Gardening Show at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, on Friday March 15.

Fans will make a beeline to the Archers Addicts stand to meet actors Trevor Harrison and Hedli Niklaus.

Actor Trevor Harrison has played 61-year-old farmer Eddie Grundy since 1979. Hedli, who plays Kathy, first came to The Archers as Libby Jones, a milk recorder. She later returned as the feisty and flighty Eva Lenz, the German au pair courted by local yokels. Hedli took on her current role as teacher Kathy in 1983, marrying one of the soap’s favourite characters, Sid Perks, who died in 2010.

Hedli, who runs Archers Addicts, the official fan club for The Archers, said: “We love coming to shows like this because it puts us in touch with real life Ambridge, and it’s a great opportunity to meet our listeners and hear their stories – every bit as interesting as ours.”

Other celebrity participants includechef Rachel Green , Gardeners’ Question Time panellist Bob Flowerdew, BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Alys Fowler, TV botanist James Wong and grow-your-own guru Paul Peacock.

The three-day show has grown from strength to strength with over 13,000 visitors attending the 2012 event.

www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk

The GTN Bestseller All Barcode Products Index revealed that volume sales were a staggering 19% up on the same week last year.

So let’s hope that Santa’s arrival can help continue the trend until the end of the year (see chart below).

Our first sight of Santa came last weekend as crowds flocked to Baytree Garden Centre, Spalding, Lincs, to see him arrive on a camel. In fact, the services of two circus camels were needed to get Santa to his grotto in time for the 2pm opening on Saturday.

Baytree were delighted with the response from visiting families and will be hoping for more business over the coming weeks as Santa continues to draw in children and their parents.

Baytree revealed to GTN that their current bestselling item is the Premier Decorations Laser Light, retailing at £59.99. They were constantly having to order new stock as the popular product flew off the shelves.

Meanwhile Ruxley Manor Garden Centre in Sidcup, Kent, welcome Santa to their store this weekend. They’ve already sold an amazing 20,000 tickets for their grotto.

While Baytree and Ruxley Manor have been welcoming Santa quite early, according to our research at Garden Radio, November 17th is the most popular date for him to arrive at garden centres with the 24th the second most popular.

trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

The biggest sales increase went to Arthur Bowers New Horizons Mix and Mulch, 60 litres, up by over 500% to enter the chart at No 24.

Arthur Bowers also had the highest re-entry with their Bulb Fibre, 10 litres, jumping back into the chart at No 22.

Other positive sales movers are: 

• Scotts Miracle-Gro All Purpose Compost, 60 litres, up 14 places to No 14.
• Scotts Levington Multipurpose 20 litres, climbing 21 places to No 21.
• Westland West+ Light & Easy Compost with 4 months feed, at No 26.
• Scotts Levington Rose, Tree & Shrub, 56 litres, at No 29.

Biochar – a form of charcoal used as a soil improver – has produced impressive results in the the UK’s first commercial biochar trials with professional growers and gardeners.

The trioals suggest that biochar helps to boost root growth, reduces the need to water, improves germination rates and results in stronger, healthier plants which are more resilient to disease and changing weather conditions.

The independent trials were commissioned by Bristol-based Carbon Gold, who produce a range of Soil Association approved, peat-free, biochar growing products. The products are stocked by a number of garden centres.

Trials with 19 professional users found that Carbon Gold composts - and personal compost mixes enriched with GroChar Soil Improver (made up of 90% biochar) performed as well as, and in some cases better, than peat.

Craig Sams, founder of Carbon Gold and co-founder of Green & Blacks chocolate, will be launching the results at the Soil Association Soil Symposium next Thursday (15 November) to an audience of soil experts, farmers and growers.

The results come at a time when Defra is deliberating the report from their Sustainable Growing Media Task Force and deciding how best to reduce peat in both professional horticulture and amateur gardening. Biochar is one of the amendments to growing media being considered as an alternative to peat.

Biochar trialist Martin Kyte, field trials manager at Rijk Zwaan, said: “I initially started trialling Carbon Gold’s GroChar Composts against a peat-based compost, but the results were so good I stopped the peat trials and progressed solely with propagating in GroChar.”

Jez Taylor, Market Gardener at Daylesford Organic Farm said switching from their usual compost to Carbon Gold had cut water usage by a third, as  the GroChar compost was less prone to drying out.

Information: www.carbongold.com

Solus have introduced new  ‘Let’s Grow’ merchandising display and POS additions for their Botanico 2013 offering.

The aim is to help consumers to make informed decisions and enable retailers to effectively showcase essential grow-your-own products. The new modular display concept can be quickly adapted in line with the seasonal demands.

Propagation, tomatoes, vegetables and herbs, soft fruits, plant support, stakes and canes, and container gardening are all individually represented.  There is also a new comprehensive plant support system and a the new trellis range, as well as additions to the container gardening offering.

  Simon Brooks, botanico brand manager said Solus wanted to reduce the carbon footprint and waste often associated with extensive displays and secure long-term profit opportunity for retailers.

All botanico displays will feature helpful information, including a ‘don’t forget’ section. QR codes will link to botanico’s website, where step-by-step instructions and GYO advice can be found.

www.botanicogarden.co.uk

The Garden Centre Group are aiming to stage live music and entertainment to boost the festive atmosphere at many of their 129 garden centres during next week-end’s group-wide Christmas Fayres (17-18 November).

An appeal by centre managers through local media across the country has produced a strong response from choirs, carol singing groups and community bands, a TCGC marketing spokesman told GTN Xtra. The appeal generated widespread press coverage – a useful bonus.

 “We are looking to link with local community groups and organisations, school choirs and bands and panto societies and anyone relevant who might like to come along on one or both days to promote themselves to the several hundreds of customers who will attend the event,” said the manager of the group’s Keston Garden Centre, Mark Bosworth.

If you were watching Sky Sports TV on Thursday or Friday evening this week, you may have spotted golf enthusiast Andy Bestwick (business consultant and non-executive director of Petface) during coverage of a PGA Tour charity pro-am event in Florida.

Andy was playing in the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney's Magnolia course, one of only three tour events where amateurs can play with the pro's.

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals helps provide life-saving treatment and healing to millions of sick children each year.

Paired with Australian Nathan Green on Thursday, Andy finished equal 51^st in a field of 127 on the amateur leaderboard with a 5-under round of 67 (while Nathan managed 71 to finish equal 48^th on the pro board). On Friday, Andy was paired with fellow Nottinghamshire lad Greg Owen but ended the day with a par round, to finish 86th. Greg, who finished on 74 on both days, has earned more than $1m this year on the US tour.

Follow the link to the event below to see all the scores and stats.

http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r045/

The Christmas sales campaign is getting into its stride at garden centres across the country as Santa clocks up the miles at grotto openings and special events draw customers in.

Dobbies at Peterborough stage a special ladies’ night next Thursday (15 November), with admission ticket proceeds  going to charity. For £1 a head, the ladies will enjoy pampering taster sessions and a glass of champagne as well as shopping, between 5 and 8pm.

The money raised will go to CLIC Sargent, the charity for young people with cancer.

At Stephen Smith’s Garden Centre at Harden, Yorkshire, Keighley Lions are running Santa’s Grotto in ther six weekends up to Chgristmas. Santa is due toi arrive today, after leaving the Lingbob pub in Wilsden and proceeding through the village on a sleigh. Last year, thje grotto helped the Lions to raise £3,500 for the group’s charity work. Lions spokesperson Maureen Verity said: “Stephen Smith’s have been very supportive. They supply the gifts for the grotto and we pay them a nominal sum in return. Anything left over is funding for our work and is spent during the next 12 months.”

Santa makes a pit stop at Kirktown Garden Centre in Aberdeenshire this weekend with his reindeer in tow. The centre are putting on stovies, soup, teas and coffees and a variety of soft drinks to enjoy under a glittering canopy.

The festive season got off to a great start at North Perrott Farm Shop and Garden Centre in Somerset last weekend when the outlet’s large straw bale man – something of a local landmark – was re-built after being torched by vandals last month.

Local schoolchildren were distraught when they discovered the sculpture they waved to on their way to Misterton First School had been destroyed.

Thanks to the efforts of owner of Jonathan Hoskyns and his staff – who undertook the re-build in the unexpected snow last weekend, finishing after dark – the kids are smiling again.

The straw sculpture was the brainchild of eight-year-old Millie Dyer, who decided she wanted to make a straw bale man of her own after seeing one on her way home from a holiday in Cornwall.

Gardman are urging garden centres to make the most of the potential for pet care sales in the run-up to Christmas.

The company, who launched their pet brands in June, believe pet care offers great potential for garden centre sales.  “All our research and our own experience has shown that consumers love to treat their pets all year round so this category benefits from not being seasonally dependent,” says Lisa Blackmore, head of category management. “However, at Christmas nearly 70% of consumers buy gifts for their pets so pet care has tremendous potential at this time of year. Garden centres are an ideal environment for pet owners to shop for their pets, particularly as they are often keen gardeners too.”

More than 100 garden centres now stock the Gardman Pet, Heads & Tails and Explorer brands, which currently have Christmas promotional deals on seven volume lines.

www.gardman.co.uk/petcare-promotions

www.gardmanpetcare.co.uk

A card reader and app that turns smartphones and tablet devices like the iPad into mobile payments terminals was launched to the UK market this week by social payment company iZettle

Costing about £20, it plugs into the smartphone or tablet and takes seconds to complete a secure transaction. iZettle merchants are charged 2.75 per cent of each payment.

The mini chip-card readers can be purchased exclusively in 297 newly-designed EE stores across the country and from EE’s telesales channel. Bought from the EE  store, it comes with a £20 voucher redeemable against transaction charges. The associated app is free to download.

iZettle say their reader can be used with iPhones, iPads, and more than a dozen 2.1 and higher Android smartphones and tablets including the Samsung Galaxy range. It can accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club payments, with no lengthy sign up processes, no set up fees, no monthly fees and no minimum spend.

The reader is already used by more than 75,000 small businesses and individuals in six countries. The full UK launch follows a Beta test with 4,000 users over the past six months.

Gerry McQuade, chief marketing officer at EE said: “iZettle is a revolution for small businesses and consumers. The aim of our new superfast EE brand is to make businesses’ digital lives easier and ultimately more profitable through technology. Businesses and consumers are on the cusp of mobile payment transformation and we are delighted to bring iZettle to market.”

EE is the first company in the UK to provide 4G mobile services alongside fixed-line fibre. It runs the Orange, T-Mobile and EE brands in the UK. Its 4G service will cover a third of the population by the end of 2012 and its fibre service will cover 50% of the population by the end of the year.

www. izettle.com

Westland Horticulture's recently-acquired bird food production facilities in Driffield, East Yorkshire have been awarded an A grade rating from the British Retail Consortium for the third year running.

The site fulfilled 10 key requirements relating to production, packaging, storage and distribution.

Products from the Driffield facility include the Nature's Feast, Peckish and specialist Buckton brands, as well as own label lines.

Rachael Dickinson, marketing manager for bird care at Westland said, the rating was a tribute to the continued dedication of the staff. 

Westland purchased the Driffield site when they acquired Cranswick Pet Products in April this year, giving them access to market leading knowledge, expertise, infrastructure and world leading manufacturing facilities.