British Garden Centres has announced that they have completed the acquisition of Hillview Garden Centres (HGC) from The Hillview Group.

The transaction included both the operational business and portfolio of eight garden centres of HGC. This latest acquisition brings the total number of stores in British Garden Centres to 57, making them the second largest garden centre group in the UK.

British Garden Centres have undergone an impressive expansion programme, growing from 10 centres in 2018, acquiring 39 ex-Wyevale sites over the past few months and now adding Hillview centres at Charlbury, Heanor, Studley, Matlock, Charlecote, Bromsgrove, Tenbury Wells and Newton Regis to the portfolio.

Commenting, director Phillipa Stubbs, said: “The most exciting part of this latest acquisition is the fit. Not only does this group of centres help with our geographical expansion, but the whole culture of the Hillview team slots so well into the British Garden Centre philosophy.”

“We’ve all seen how hard it can be to make a large corporate model successful in the garden centre business. That’s why our philosophy is so different. We are focusing on bringing all the benefits of a larger organisation whilst retaining the strengths of a family run business. Our individual centre teams all have their own local personality and close relationships with loyal customers. My job is to support them in doing what’s right in their own centres. And the great news for these latest eight centres who are joining the group is that they can now benefit from the financial support and working capital that will allow them to grow the business.”

Hillview Garden Centres has been run for the past 8 years by Boyd Douglas-Davies who will be taking up a senior role at British Garden Centres with immediate effect. He added: “I’m so pleased to see HGC settling into its new home with British Garden Centres. All the staff have transferred across so the experience and team spirit is intact! There’s so many opportunities ahead of us now.”

The eight centres have been trading under the British Garden Centre umbrella since late-September under an agreement with Hillview Group that was designed to ensure the business made the most of the busy Christmas trading period. The approach has already paid dividends with the centres reporting strong sales up on the same period last year.