Huge garden centre chain to shut 17 nurseries in blow for shoppers

Britain's biggest garden centre operator Dobbies has revealed it will close 17 stores by the end of this year – with nearly 500 employees affected.

The Scottish retailer said 11 major stores and six smaller stores in the UK would be shut because they have become unprofitable, leaving it with 60 remaining outlets.

Some 465 out of its 3,600 staff are expected to be impacted, while Dobbies also said it was working with landlords on a temporary cut in rent at a further nine sites.

The chain, which dates back to 1865, has not been put into administration - but its restructuring plan now needs to be backed by landlords and ratified by a court.

It comes after Dobbies saw pre-tax losses plunge to £131million last year, down from a £21million loss the year before. The retailer had blamed the drop on unseasonable weather, the cost-of-living crisis, high inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Dobbies stores set to close by the end of this year are:

Dobbies

• Altrincham
• Antrim
• Gloucester
• Gosforth
• Harlestone Heath
• Huntingdon
• Inverness
• King's Lynn
• Pennine
• Reading
• Stratford-upon-Avon

Little Dobbies

• Cheltenham
• Chiswick
• Clifton
• Richmond
• Stockbridge
• Westbourne Grove

The Dobbies announcement said: 'Dobbies Garden Centres Limited ('Dobbies') has today initiated a restructuring plan (RP) to address historically uneconomical rent costs and ensure a return to sustainable profitability.

'The RP, and other strategic initiatives, are expected to return Dobbies to sustainable profitability through site rationalisations, rent reductions and other tangible cost savings – securing its long-term future and allowing access to future investment.

'The RP includes the closure of 11 unprofitable sites, and 6 unprofitable Little Dobbies sites, and impacts 465 colleagues, of which 82 are full-time (out of a total ~3,600 overall). Dobbies will also be working with landlords to seek temporary rent reductions at a further nine sites.

'While the process is ongoing, all sites will continue to operate as normal. There will be no impact to suppliers. Subject to the RP being successfully approved, we expect the affected sites to cease trading by the end of the year. 

'Thereafter, Dobbies will operate 60 stores and continue to play a key role in the market, working constructively with stakeholders and suppliers, and having an active and committed role in the communities in which it's based.'

The Dobbies chief executive is David Robinson, former chief operating officer at Pets at Home and previously an executive at Bestway, Argos and Homebase.