Wyevale Garden Centres, Britain's biggest garden centre operator, has announced the sale of five garden centres to individual buyers. The centres are Brooks, Nailsworth, Aldridge, Keynsham and Shirley.

WGC chief executive Roger Mclaughlan said: “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of five of our garden centres. In the case of those centres which have been sold for alternative use, we are very pleased to honour our commitments to our colleagues and partners and will seek to redeploy our excellent colleagues in our other garden centres wherever possible in coming months.

“We would like to thank our great colleagues at these centres, who have been central to our turnaround in the past few years.”

Aldridge, Keynsham and Shirley have been sold in separate transactions to purchasers who are expected to develop the sites for alternative use. These centres were previously identified for potential redevelopment as part of the company’s active portfolio management strategy.

Aldridge and Keynsham are expected to continue to operate as garden centres for up to six months after completion of the sale.

WGC chief financial officer Anthony Jones added: “These sales reflect our continued pursuit of positive outcomes for our colleagues, concession partners, suppliers and customers as part of the ongoing sale process. We are very grateful for the dedication and commitment of the teams at these centres, and we’ll continue to support them through the transition.”

Wyevale says it has received a significant number of offers for all or part of the remaining business from national, regional and financial operators as well as local entrepreneurs. The business, owned by Terra Firma, was put up for sale in May 2018.