industry news Castle Gardens celebrates
Montgomeryshire nursery opens new site with
HSBC support A Montgomeryshire nursery has opened a new state-of-the art retail site to meet growing retail and wholesale demand for specialist plants, with the support of a six- figure finance package from HSBC. King’s Nurseries, which has been co-owned by husband and wife Marcus and Claire King for almost 20 years, has used the HSBC funding to purchase a six-acre site in Garthmyl, Montgomeryshire. The new retail plant centre officially opened on Saturday April 1 and will house thousands of specialist plants including surfinia hanging baskets, geraniums and begonias. The funding has also been used to construct 65,000 sq ft of greenhouses set over three acres, as well as a streamlined modern till system in the retail area for the public to purchase plants. Four new jobs have been created in the local area as a result of the deal, one full-time role and three part- time seasonal roles.
King’s Nurseries co-owner Claire King said: “Expanding the small nursery we own near our home has been a dream of ours for many years. Thanks to the HSBC funding, we’ve been able to achieve this with the launch of our new retail site on Saturday. Making a measurable difference in the local community is a shared passion of ours and HSBC’s and it was a joy to see our customers’ reactions to the new facilities.”
HSBC area director for North Wales Martin Lyons added: “King’s Nurseries has been an HSBC customer since it was established in 1997 so we have a thorough understanding of the company’s evolving finance requirements. It’s been brilliant to watch them ‘grow’ as a business and respond to increased demand for their products. This latest round of funding will help them fulfil their ambitious development plans and expand their customer base.”
King’s Nurseries is a specialist producer of bedding and basket plants, perennials, trees and shrubs and supplies to pubs, hotels, local authorities, garden centres, flower shops and market traders in Wales and the Midlands.
GCU May 2017
30th anniversary The Mayor of Sherborne, Councillor David Birley, officially opened Castle Gardens’ 30th anniversary celebrations on Saturday April 1 with a cake cutting ceremony, which was attended by customers old and new, local businesses and friends of the garden centre. Following a toast, where Councillor David Birley congratulated the Sherborne-based garden centre, which is part of The Gardens Group, on reaching such a milestone, as well as
acknowledging its continued commitment and work with charity initiatives and the local community, the cake was cut to declare the 14 days of celebrations open. The Gardens Group managing director Mike Burks commented: “It was such an honour to have so many familiar faces joining us to raise a glass for our 30th anniversary. When Louise and I arrived in 1987, it was a bitterly cold winter and we had our work cut out to clear the site, uncovering all sorts from fallen cold frames, greenhouse bases and even whole buildings covered in ivy. When the doors opened for the first time on April 1 1987 we had just one till, and now 30 years on, we have a wonderful team of over 60 staff at Castle Gardens alone. We’re extremely proud of everything we have achieved and are looking forward to seeing what the next 30 years has in store.”
Johnsons hails successful first
year of Scottish partnership National plant supplier Johnsons Garden Centre Sales, part of the York-based Johnsons of Whixley Group, has worked alongside Scottish nursery Craigmarloch Nurseries Ltd to achieve a significant sales increase during the first year of the companies’ partnership.
The partnership was agreed in February 2016 but the roots of the relationship can be traced back more than 20 years, when the companies first started working with one another.
Johnsons has been able to reach new and existing customers in Scotland on a much greater scale, through Craigmarloch’s own distribution network. More than 500 trolleys of stock have been delivered, while Craigmarloch’s recent open day, which featured a wide selection of Johnsons’ products, received a record level of orders.
Johnsons of Whixley garden centre sales manager Mark Reynard said: “Things have gone really well in the first year of our agency agreement with Craigmarloch. “We have been able to maintain or increase sales to our existing customer base in Scotland and Craigmarloch’s strong presence in Scotland has opened doors to lots of new accounts, which we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to service effectively. We look forward to building on the success of the first year throughout 2017.”
Craigmarloch Nurseries director Kenny Wilson said: “We have been very pleased with the first 12 months of the agreement. “Our customers have embraced the new flexibility in the order approach, and the lower minimum orders have allowed Johnsons to reach a wider customer base, helping to increase sales and market share.”
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