Two popular North East garden centres are about to be renamed after being snapped up by a national chain.
The two Wyevale Garden Centres in Gosforth and Stockton have been bought by Dobbies, which picked up a total of 31 centres from Wyevale.
Customers have been informed that the stores will be rebranded soon and that they have until August 31 to spend their reward vouchers and club card points.
Commenting on the acquisition of the garden centres, Dobbies CEO Graeme Jenkins said: “We are very pleased to have agreed this acquisition from Wyevale and we look forward to welcoming our new customers, as well as 1,400 new team members to Dobbies as we drive the growth of the business and deliver against our Strategic Plan.”
Andrew Bracey, Dobbies chairman, added: “We are delighted to have now acquired a total of 37 garden centres from Wyevale. Since acquiring Dobbies in 2016 we have doubled it in size, expanded Dobbies’ national footprint and strengthened our position as the UK’s leading garden centre operator. All of this will benefit Dobbies’ customers with broader ranges, national coverage, a leading online offer and great prices.”
The Wyevale branches bought by Dobbies are located at Altrincham, Andover, Beaconsfield, Brighton, Bury St Edmunds, Cadnam, Findern, Galton, Gosforth, Hare Hatch, Harlestone Heath, Havant, Hungerford, Keston, Leicester Rowena, Lelant, Marple, Moreton Park, Northampton, Pennine, Poppleton, Royston, Rugby, Shenstone, Stratford upon Avon, Stockton, Swansea, Swindon, Telford, Thornbury and World’s End.
Dobbies now has 69 centres across the UK, and the deal took its annual sales to ove £300m.
Anthony Jones, chief operating officer of Wyevale Garden Centres, said: “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of these centres to Dobbies and look forward to working closely with the Dobbies team as part of the transition. I’d like to thank all of our colleagues at these great centres and wish them well for what I’m confident will be a bright future with Dobbies.”
In October 2018 Dobbies also snapped up six of Wyevale’s largest sites, including its Heighley Gate centre, in Morpeth. The other sites were located in Glocester, Huntingdon, Woodbridge, Woodcote Green, and Woodlands.
