The Garden Centre Group
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| Type | Private (majority owned by Bank of Scotland[1]) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Gardening |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Headquarters | Syon Park, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
| Products | Garden centres |
| Website | http://www.thegardencentregroup.co.uk |
The Garden Centre Group is a chain of 129 garden centres in the United Kingdom. Prior to 2009, it was known as Wyevale Garden Centres.
It was voted 'Best Garden Centre 2009' in an online poll by Gardeners' World Magazine.[2]
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[edit] Name change
In 2009, the decision was made to change the company name to The Garden Centre Group.[3]
This change reflects the fact that the Group owns a large number of historic and important garden centre brands, which the company wishes to preserve and enhance in the future.
The Group encompasses Blooms, Country Gardens, Bridgemere, Heighley Gate, Jack's Patch, Old Barn, Sanders, Woodlands and Wyevale, as well as many smaller centres like Syon Park, one of the very first 'gardening centres'.
Wyevale is a very important brand, which was originally a nursery started by the Williamson family in the 1930s in Hereford and later became a garden centre in 1967. It is not the intention to diminish the brand in any way but rather work to re-establish it as a great name in horticulture.
The Group is in the process of changing the external signage on all the garden centres. This is intended to give all centres their own unique identity and enable them to work more closely with their local community.[4]
[edit] History
The first Wyevale Garden Centre was opened in the 1960s on Kings Acre Road in Hereford where a local nursery had been selling plants by mail-order since the 1930s.
In 1987, it became a PLC and was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In February 2009,following the collapse of the Icelandic investment company Baugur Group who had a large stake in the firm, the Bank of Scotland became the majority owner of the firm in a debt-for-equity deal.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.diyweek.net/news/news.asp?id=12058&title=Wyevale+Group+now+under+Bank+of+Scotland+control
- ^ http://www.gardenersworld.com/awards/results/
- ^ Wyevale rebrands to return to its roots - RetailWeek
- ^ http://www.thepeoplepod.co.uk/industry%20news/retail/wyevale%20rebrands%20to%20return%20to%20its%20roots/
[edit] External links
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