British Garden Centres (BGC), the UK’s largest family-owned group of garden centres, have recently collected the keys to a large, state-of-the-art, nursery production unit in Warwickshire. The glasshouse, tunnel and open-bed nursery site were built to the highest specification by the team at Hawkesmill Nurseries in 2017.
“As British Garden Centres, it won’t surprise anyone that we are increasing our production facilities in the UK,” explained Boyd J Douglas-Davies, Plants & PR Director for the group. “I’ve known the incredible plants that Hawkesmill has produced for years from this unit and their other sites so jumped at the opportunity to take on this nursery”. The new nursery, to be known as Temple Nursery in recognition of the local area, will complement the growing the business already undertakes at its Woodthorpe Nursery – the birthplace of the BGC group – and Fretherne Nursery, a site leased from Glendale Horticulture.
British Garden Centres have taken on five growers for the new site, including the newly appointed Group Nursery Manager, Nigel Coombs, and will be looking to recruit additional colleagues this year.
British Garden Centres is the largest family-run garden centre group operating 62 stores in the UK. It sold over 8 million plants in 2022. The group is very focused on all things gardening, plant sales account for nearly 30% of the business.
Employing 3,000 across the business it is the UK’s largest family-run garden centre business. Founded by brothers Charles and Robert Stubbs in 1987 it continues to be led by the Stubbs family.
