Gardening Advice Online and Easy to Follow Gardening Articles

Warbreck Garden Centre Sold

I am a great lover of Warbreck Garden Centre in Lathom and was sorry to hear that it is being sold. Let’s hope that the new owners retain the character of the place. Here’s what Horticultural Week say:

Steve Myatt, former chairman of the Garden Centre Association, has sold Warbreck Garden Centre after running the base near Southport for more than 30 years.

The purchaser, Richard Allison, is the son of the former owners of Lady Green Garden Centre, based in Ince Blundell, Merseyside. The cost of the centre was not revealed.

Warbreck Garden Centre has a turnover of around £1m a year, said Myatt, who was looking at new business opportunities. “After 34 years at Warbreck we felt it was time for a break,” he said. “I hope to get involved in the industry and different capacities in the future.”

Warbreck Garden Centre sells plants and aquatics, garden buildings, furniture and gifts. It is around 16km from Lady Green Garden Centre.

Mike Gilbert, director of selling agent Hammond Phillips, said there was still a strong demand for garden centres despite the recession. “Garden centre values do not seem to be suffering in the current economic climate. Banks are lending to the sector, which is good news for vendors and purchasers.”

Mike Gilbert said: “Lady Green is a much bigger operation with a larger site and higher turnover. Warbreck is about half the size, spanning across approximately 2ha.”