Garden group takes on Badger Nurseries in Studley for undisclosed sum - the second garden centre acquisition in Redditch in the space of a month.
The Golden Acres group has renamed the site Badger Garden Centre and expects to spend £1m on redeveloping the centre over the next 18 months. The acquisition of the three-acre site grows the group's portfolio of garden centres and nurseries to five.

All staff will be retained, although the sale does not include Badger's original wholesale nursery division, which will continue to supply the garden centre with locally-grown plants.

The announcement follows news of The Hillview Group's first acquisition in the garden centre market, taking over Hillier's Redditch Garden Centre last month. The garden outlet, which was renamed Studley Garden Centre, opened on September 17.

Golden Acres group operations director Simon Edwards said: "Is Redditch the new place to be? We are delighted with the sudden interest in the area and looking forward to raising the quality of garden centre offering in the area. Badger is a great, family-run centre that is very gardening-focused, which fits our way of business well. Staff there have looked after customers well and there is excellent loyalty to the garden centre in the area."

Golden Acres also operates Cadnam Garden Centre in Southampton, John Browns Garden Centre at Three Legged Cross, Dorset, Golden Acres Landford in Wiltshire and Golden Acres West Parley in Ferndown, Dorset, as well as a trade wholesale business.

The group has remained profitable through the downturn. The accounts for the holding company show a gross margin of 51.1% on sales of £7.6m in 2010, and although the operating and net profits showed a downturn the business still achieved a 2010 operating margin of 6.8% and a net margin of 4.4%. Stockturn was 3.7 times, and staff costs were 27.8% of turnover.