Squire’s Garden Centres has appointed two new non-executive Directors, Rob Collins and Tony Perkins. Rob Collins has held various roles within the John Lewis partnership and recently retired as MD of Waitrose. Tony Perkins was Audit Lead Partner at BDO, a top five international accounting firm, where he worked with Squire’s for many years.

Sarah Squire, Squire’s Chairman, commented; “I am delighted to welcome Rob and Tony to the team at Squire’s. Non-executive Directors have been a great asset to us over the years. We have benefitted enormously from their counsel. Knowing our business well, but not being involved in day-to-day matters, they see issues objectively. They bring a completely different and complementary set of skills to our decision making, often asking pertinent questions of us based on their own commercial experience. We very much look forward to benefiting from Rob and Tony’s business acumen and experience.”

About Rob Collins

Rob Collins joined Squire’s in January this year, replacing Squire’s long standing non-executive director John Osborn, who retired in December. Rob possesses a wealth of retailing experience. He has held various roles within the John Lewis partnership, a company whose values Squire’s very much respect. Rob has in-store experience and also served as a main board director for a number of years. He recently retired as MD of Waitrose.

Rob commented; “I feel honoured to have joined Squire’s as a non-executive Director. I greatly admire the values of the business and especially the deep family ethos that makes it so special. As a keen gardener and longstanding Squire’s customer I have always been struck by the exceptional experience that Squire’s provide. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting all the centres in recent weeks and I very much look forward to working with the team to help make the business even more successful and even more distinctive.”

About Tony Perkins

Tony is a chartered accountant and is well known to Squire’s, as for many years he was their audit partner at BDO. Tony gained a broad expertise in finance, risk and governance working with his many retail clients at BDO. He retired from BDO a couple of years ago and now works at board level across a number of sectors, including professional services, retail, technology and manufacturing.

Tony commented; “Having advised Squire’s for so many years I am absolutely delighted to be joining the team. I know personally as a regular customer that the Squire’s experience is second to none and look forward to contributing to its continued success.”