It has been revealed that Barnett Hill will continue to operate as a garden centre under its new owners; Seven Hills has been sold to a development firm, with employees set to lose jobs within the next six months.

Barnett Hill has been sold to Cherry Lane, the value garden centre group (part of QD Group) and will continue to be run as a garden centre by the new owners. The garden centre will be known as Barnett Hill by Cherry Lane and will retain all staff enabling them to remain in their existing roles.

Meanwhile, Seven Hills has been sold to a property development and investment company. Wyevale Garden Centres will continue running Seven Hills under licence for up to six months during which time, the firm said it “will be looking to find alternative employment for all our colleagues”.

The deals are expected to complete during March and Cherry Lane has said the group is delighted to have acquired the Barnett Hill centre, situated on Worcester Road, Stourbridge. It marks the third acquisition for Cherry Lane over the past 12 months, as the group continues to actively look for further sites in line with its ongoing expansion strategy.

QD Group chief executive Nick Rubins said: “The acquisition of Barnett Hill Garden Centre is another great landmark in the ongoing growth and success of Cherry Lane. We are a family-run business and this is a major purchase for our group. We are very pleased to welcome the team from Wyevale and are looking forward to sharing with our customers our great value, excellent quality and ever-changing spectacular new deals.”

Cherry Lane explains it will be working to introduce a number of “key improvements and developments” to the garden centre over the next few months to enhance the customer experience.  The centre’s plant offer will also benefit from the group’s three nursery operations, located across the country.

WGC chief operating officer Anthony Jones said: “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of two more garden centres, taking the total sold since the start of the process to 48. We would like to thank our great colleagues at these centres and wish them well for the future, whether under new ownership or within Wyevale Garden Centres.

“We continue to evaluate and discuss a wide range of competitive offers and look forward to further positive discussions with all potential buyers. Meanwhile, the spring gardening season has well and truly started and we are focusing our efforts on trading our remaining portfolio during this important period in the year.”