Christie Group PLC Sale of Wyevale Garden Centres
22 May 2018 - 8:54PM
RNS Non-Regulatory
TIDMCTG
Christie Group PLC
22 May 2018
22 May 2018
Christie Group plc
("Christie Group" or the "Company")
Christie & Co appointed to support Terra Firma on the sale
of Wyevale Garden Centres
Christie Group plc (CTG.L), the leading provider of Professional
Business Services and Stock & Inventory Systems and Services to
the leisure, retail and care markets, is pleased to announce that
Christie & Co, its specialist provider of agency and advisory
services, has been appointed to advise on the potential sale of
Wyevale Garden Centres, following today's announcement by Terra
Firma, the private equity fund.
This high-quality portfolio of 145 garden centres, ranges from
horticultural centres to major leisure destination venues. Located
across the UK but with a weighting towards the South East of
England, the sites range in size from one to 132 acres and are
profitable standalone business opportunities. Wyevale Garden
Centres have invested significantly in the business and the
majority of sites have high specification restaurants and cafes,
many with children's soft play areas. There are extensive
opportunities to enhance the existing operation by introducing
further income generating activity on each site.
Chris Day, Global Managing Director at Christie & Co
comments, "The garden centre market is vibrant and on an upwards
trajectory. In recent years garden centres have become much more
than places just to buy plants, evolving to become wider leisure
and retail destinations with play centres for children, restaurants
and other activities designed to improve the shopping experience.
These attractive consumer fundamentals with multiple income streams
mean the market is likely to be resilient to headwinds experienced
by the high-street."
"The sale of Wyevale Garden Centres presents a unique
opportunity for a wide range of buyers from financial institutions,
existing garden centre operators, independent business people and
entrepreneurs to buy well invested local garden centres within the
price range of GBP200k to GBP35m. Financial institutions will be
attracted to a strong business that is a platform for consolidation
of the sector. Entrepreneurs will be particularly attracted into a
market with the prospect of enhancing an already resilient income
stream by adding their own profitable activities into underutilised
ancillary space which has a multitude of potential uses. Current
garden centre operators seeking to compliment or improve their
existing business will also be attracted to the disposal, as
opportunities of this quality rarely come to the market."
Roger Mclaughlan, CEO of Wyevale Garden Centres adds, "This
investment provides a fantastic opportunity for new long-term
owners looking to enter the market and existing operators seeking
to expand their current operations. Wyevale Garden Centres has been
transformed beyond recognition over the last few years, and our
customers are responding really positively to all the improvements
we've been making, with improved ranges, high stock availability
and exceptional garden centre standards. Our improved business has
engaged colleagues and put customers at the heart of what we do.
Thanks to the hard work of all of our colleagues, we remain firmly
on track to grow our sales and profits this year."
Enquiries:
Christie Group plc
Chris Day 020 7227 0777
Christie & Co Global
Managing Director
David Rugg 020 7227 0707
Chairman & Chief Executive
Dan Prickett 020 7227 0700
Chief Operating Officer
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited:
Dominic Morley / Charles Leigh-Pemberton 020 7886 2906
Nominated Adviser & Broker
Notes to Editors:
Christie Group plc, quoted on AIM, is a leading professional
business services group with 44 offices across the UK, Europe and
Canada, catering to its specialist markets in the leisure, retail
and care sectors.
Christie Group operates in two complementary business divisions:
Professional Business Services (PBS) and Stock & Inventory
Systems & Services (SISS). These divisions trade under the
brand names: PBS - Christie & Co, Pinders, Christie Finance and
Christie Insurance: SISS - Orridge, Venners and Vennersys.
Tracing its origins back to 1846, the Group has a
long-established reputation for offering essential services to
client companies in agency, valuation services, investment,
consultancy, project management, multi-functional trading systems
and online ticketing services, stock audit and inventory
management. The diversity of these services provides a natural
balance to the Group's core agency business.
For more information, please go to www.christiegroup.com.
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END
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