NEWS


Hillier Nurseries Honoured with Royal Warrant from HM The King


Hillier Nurseries, one of the UK’s leading horticultural businesses, is among the companies to have been granted a Royal Warrant by His Majesty King Charles III. This prestigious recognition cements the company’s long- standing relationship with the Royal Household, marking another milestone in a 160- year history.


Founded in 1864 by Edwin


Hillier, the company remains a family-run nursery with the fifth generation now actively involved in the family business as it


continues to grow. Not only is Hillier the largest


producer of semi-mature trees in Europe and grower of over one million plants at its Hampshire nursery, but it also employs over 750 staff across its nursery, amenity trees and 22 garden centre divisions and is a flourishing multi-million pound company. It proudly holds the world record for the most consecutive gold medals awards at the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with 74 wins.


As one of the leading growers Leyland raises thousands for Gaza humanitarian crisis


Colleagues and customers at a leading decorating and DIY specialist have raised thousands of pounds to help the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than 30 employees at Leyland took part in a 10km walk around central London to support The British Red Cross’ Gaza Crisis Appeal. Meanwhile, customers across Leyland’s


35 London stores and online have been digging deep to make donations, bringing in a combined total of £8,600 to help innocent families in the war- struck area.


Sof Pathan, a supervisor at Leyland’s Notting Hill store, set the ball rolling after being horrified by the suffering she saw on the television.


Pathan said: “Gaza has been INDUSTRY COMMENT: BHETA


WORKING TOGETHER – COLLABORATIVE LOBBYING IS KEY, SAYS BHETA


As we go into 2025, there are many issues affecting our industry, and it’s vital we work together where we can make a difference. And, make no mistake, collectively, we can, and we do. Sometimes it might seem like hard work for little reward, but BHETA’s commitment to lobbying Government both centrally and via local MPs has already paid off and will do so again. The urgent issues right now are the Government’s iniquitous proposals re inheritance tax for family businesses and the unfair, and potentially dangerous, impact of the unregulated online purchase of so-called ‘small parcels’ which manage to evade both import taxes and safety regulations. BHETA has good record shifting the market via lobbying and now we on the case with both these issues, and we are seeing progress.


Family-run businesses – manufacturing


and retail – account for 90% of private sector firms and employ 14 million people and the home improvement, garden, housewares, gift, and small domestic electricals businesses are all similarly


6 DIY WEEK JANUARY 2025


Left: Will Jones, Chief Operating Officer of BHETA


sent to his team directly, so BHETA is delighted to work with GIMA to make this happen.


threatened. It’s vital all family businesses


get together to lobby and sustain the campaign kicked off by our agricultural colleagues. BHETA is providing templates for central Government and local MP lobbying for supplier companies caught by the Government’s proposals, in support of the lead taken by FamilyBusiness UK (FBUK) and retailer colleagues via BIRA. We are also sharing the initiative with GIMA members similarly affected.


It’s a great


opportunity to write to the PM directly, and call for a review of the policy and a formal consultation. Already we are seeing the Prime Minister announcing that he wants examples of businesses affected by IHT


Each year, over 85,000 businesses transition ownership to the next generation (Source: FBUK) and to date, Business Property Relief (BPR) has been essential in enabling these companies to plan, giving owners the assurance to focus on growth. Under the new IHT rules, a cap of £1 million will apply to the assets eligible for 100% inheritance tax (IHT) relief. Any value exceeding this threshold will only receive 50% relief. Business assets that were previously fully exempt under inheritance tax relief will now face an effective 20% tax when transferred to the next generation, threatening the financial security of family- owned UK manufacturers and producers in all sectors.


The changes to Business Property Relief (BPR) announced in the budget will hit family businesses hard and BHETA urges all members to get involved and contact local MPs. Over 86% of BHETA members are concerned about the recent changes to taxes and national insurance and these changes will be potentially disastrous for


family businesses.


In a parallel campaign, BHETA is also very much on the case with the threat of duty-evading ‘small parcels’ coming in direct to UK consumers from overseas marketplace suppliers. An estimated 100 million small parcel shipments arrived in the UK from overseas sellers in 2023, due to the rise of the Internet and the rise of shopping giants like Temu and Shein. BHETA’s lobbying campaign is calling for the UK Government to reduce the ‘De Minimis’ threshold for duty of £135 significantly – specifically to under £40. (The De Minimis threshold refers to the value below which goods can be imported into a country without incurring customs duties).


on the news and social media for so long, but I still think there are many people who are unaware of the desperate situation. “I wanted to come up with a way to raise money but also to increase awareness. I talked to my area manager and the idea of a colleague walk, coupled with a donation option at the tills, was born.


“It has been absolutely


fantastic to see so many people across the company getting involved, including senior management. The generosity of our customers has also been tremendous. Colleagues from right across the business were involved, including those from stores, the support centre and the warehouse, as well as the senior leadership team and


CEO Martin Hastings. Hastings said: “I am very


proud of the team for stepping up and doing what we can to support the innocent people being impacted in Gaza.


in the UK, Hillier is involved in many peat-free initiatives, including the RHS Peat-Free Fellowship, the largest peat-free collaborative research project globally. The company was amongst the first nurseries to become 100% peat-free across both its production nursery and retail garden centres, and all Hillier plants are grown in peat- free compost.


Recent successes for the company include the launch of its online shop, the substantial redevelopment of Hillier Garden Centre Newbury and the acquisition of the Rosebourne Garden Centre Group in November 2022, as well as sponsorship of BBC Gardeners’ World Live and BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, and the incredibly popular free ‘Hillier Gardening Club’ loyalty program which now has over half a million members.


Already we are seeing media investigations into suppliers of this kind gathering pace, and we intend to keep up the pressure. If there are issues affecting your business, please get in touch with BHETA because we can help. For more information on BHETA lobbying and legislative advice contact BHETA Member Services on 0121 237 1130 or via www.bheta.co.uk


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