The Ramsgate Wyevale Garden Centre has been sold to British Garden Centres and is expected to be under their ownership by early October.
British Garden Centres will continue to trade Ramsgate as a garden centre. There is currently a Wyevale clearance sale taking place.
The Ramsgate centre is one of 37 bought by British Garden Centres over six separate transactions.
It now means the entire Wyevale estate has been sold. Buyers of other sites include Dobbies, Hillier and Blue Diamond;
The sale process of the Wyevale business began in May 2018. WGC have sold 145 garden centres in 57 separate transactions, with over 90% continuing to trade as garden centres and over 95% of garden centres workers continuing in their roles.
The sale to British Garden Centres will now trigger a closure process over the coming months, including finalising all payments and obligations due to WGC’s key stakeholders.
Justin King, Executive Chairman of Wyevale Garden Centres, said: “In May 2018 we said it was the right time to launch a sales process for WGC following a large number of improvements made to the business under the new leadership team, resulting in our centres looking and performing better than ever.
“Our focus was on seeking new long-term owners for the centres and running the process in a way which protected and supported all our stakeholders, including WGC colleagues, while maximising returns for our shareholder.
“ I am delighted that 16 months on we have succeeded in that goal with the vast majority of centres and colleagues remaining within the sector and customers now benefitting from a wider choice of garden centre operators.
“I would particularly like to thank Anthony Jones, our COO and his team for managing a complex disposal process with skill and dedication whilst maintaining a forensic focus on operations and trading, which has enabled a strong performance during key periods.”