Who has taken over Dobbies Garden Centre?
British Garden Centres has announced the acquisition of Dobbies Rugby and the leasing of the Dobbies Northampton site. These additions increase the company’s total number of garden centres to 72, further cementing its status as the UK’s leading family owned retail operator. Tesco bought Dobbies Garden Centres for £155. Midlothian Capital Partners and Hartington Capital for £217m using funds managed by Ares – which describes itself as a “leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary .Tesco has sold its garden centre chain Dobbies for £217m as the retailer continues with its strategy of focusing on its supermarket business. Dobbies has been sold to a group of investors led by Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital.A MAP has revealed the locations where Dobbies garden centres are shutting in 2025. Eight branches are closing this year, including in Rugby, Stapleton and Leicester, as well as Morpeth, Havant and Aylesbury.Dobbies to close 17 outlets to reduce rent costs Dobbies has said all sites will continue to operate until the restructuring process is given the green light. The garden centre chain fell to a £105. March 2023, against a £7 million loss a year prior.Tesco bought Dobbies Garden Centres in 2007, and since then it has grown to become the UK’s second largest specialist garden centre retailer, operating 35 garden centres across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.
Which garden centre is closing down?
The brand intends to shutter ‘unprofitable stores’ as part of a restructuring plan. Sixteen ‘mainline’ and ‘Little’ Dobbies shut in 2024, then eight more closures were announced at the start of this year. Now, three more Dobbie’s are getting the axe. The garden centre brand shared it’s closing the stores in a bid to address historically uneconomical rent costs and ensure a return to sustainable profitability. Altogether, Dobbies will close 11 of its main larger sites and six of the Little Dobbies stores around the UK.Why is the garden centre chain closing down? Dobbies says that the 16 stores slated for closure are ‘unprofitable’. It says that the restructuring plan intends to ‘address historically uneconomical rent costs and ensure a return to sustainable profitability’.Why is the garden centre chain closing down? Dobbies says that the 16 stores slated for closure are ‘unprofitable’. It says that the restructuring plan intends to ‘address historically uneconomical rent costs and ensure a return to sustainable profitability’.Dobbies is planning to shut 17 of its 77 stores, affecting 465 jobs, as its new owners try to return the garden centre group to profitability. The company, which employs 3,600 workers, said it was seeking the approval of creditors for a restructuring plan that would reduce its rent bill.
What is the largest garden centre chain in the UK?
Dobbies are the UK’s largest chain with almost 80 sites, followed by British Garden Centres with over 60. Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, has opened its largest ever store at The Junction Retail and Leisure Park, in Antrim.British Garden Centres has announced that it has acquired Dobbies Rugby, as well as exchanging on the lease of the latter’s site in Northampton. These additions bring the chain’s total number of centres to 72.The agreement is expected to eventually see Waitrose have a dedicated area offering 2,000 products in more than 50 of Dobbies’ foodhalls across the UK. The first launch will be at the Dobbies garden centre in Edinburgh by the end of July, followed by Atherstone in Warwickshire and Brighton in August.