Notcutts Garden Centres has confirmed that it has entered into discussions with Scotdales Garden Centre with a view to transferring ownership of the Cambridge Garden Centre. Subject to all parties reaching agreement, transfer of the business is planned for 1st October 2013.
Notcutts has owned the Cambridge site since 2003, when it was previously known as Ansells Garden Centre. Like Notcutts, Scotsdales is a family owned business, which has been operating in the Cambridge area for over 40 years. Their Garden Centre at Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire is one of the largest, single site garden centres in the country with an annual turnover in excess of £14m.
Scotsdales made the approach to Notcutts and a sale is felt to represent a good opportunity for all parties. No redundancies are planned as part of the transfer of ownership.
Notcutts has been open about acquisition being a key objective for the business and confirms that there are several conversations ongoing with regards to the growth of the company and its sites.
Andrew Staff, Interim CEO at Notcutts said: “When Scotsdales expressed an interest in the centre they made it clear that they were committed to the investment needed to develop the site. We feel this would be positive for the centre and being family owned means that Scotsdales would be a good fit for our colleagues working there."
Caroline Owen, Managing Director of Scotsdales said: “We hope to welcome the team from Notcutts Horningsea to the Scotsdales family, with our intention to invest-in and develop the business over the coming months."
