Sell My Garden Centre or Plant Nursery Business

Our dedicated horticulture team are experts in the valuation and sale of UK garden centres and nurseries

How to sell a garden centre or plant nursery

If you would like to sell your garden centre or plant nursery business, our experts have years’ of experience in the horticulture trade and a proven track record of directing the sale of multi-million pound, garden centre businesses. The future of garden centres includes the expansion of services, from selling plants and sharing a meticulous understanding of horticulture, to offering an extensive retail and dining experience, topped with children’s activities.

Developing an essential trip into a full day itinerary packed with socialising and educational events, garden centres have great potential to offer high-quality experiences, in addition to delivering the core service.

Integration of hospitality in plant and garden centres

Leading British household brands in the horticulture industry are finding new ways to attract customers through the integration of cafes, restaurants and educational services for beginner and experienced gardeners. Educating your customer base on flower care, crop growing and wildlife homes can go a long way in terms of adding emotional value and drawing more customers to your garden centre door.

Britain’s largest garden centre group are leading the way in showcasing a new shopping experience by reinvigorating their product range and introducing a club for younger customers to share recipes and gardening tips. Sharing knowledge, activity ideas and promoting sustainable living can help attract a new audience, popularising the use of garden centres.

As customer expectations evolve, the horticulture sector offers a range of expansion opportunities, which when embraced, can help secure a new customer base. As a result, garden centres are attracting new generations by introducing gardening equipment and homeware into their product ranges, organic, home-grown fruit and vegetables and access to restaurants, fully licensed bars and outdoor play areas for children.

By drawing customers to your garden centre through the likes of training sessions and retail stores, this elevates the customer experience, similar to that of shopping centres which offer more than just shopping facilities, such as cinemas, restaurants and beauty salons. This can open up the opportunity to collaborate with other businesses, boost the value of your business and fulfil multiple customer needs.

 

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• Previous sales and acquisitions experience
• Sector specialisms and average success rate
• Sales value expectations and growth potential

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Growing concerns to garden centres, tree, shrub, flower and plant nurseries

Horticultural businesses typically have a strong history in the industry; with many operating as family-run businesses passed down through generations. This can work in your favour as long-term viability shows strong business health and reliability, increasing your odds of being handpicked to deliver contract services, distinguishing you from other businesses on the market and attracting buyers.

As a neighbour to the agricultural sector, both industries share a combination of challenges which can open up the doorway to fresh opportunities.

• Industry competition - The rise of corporate farming and supermarkets venturing into the sale of garden plants, flowers and shrubs threaten the demand traditionally directed to garden centres. Wholesale nurseries are used by commercial buyers due to the expansive range which can cater for large scale projects and planting schemes, in comparison to garden centres which serves general use. The industry knowledge, sector specialisms, workforce skillset and quality of goods is what makes operating a garden centre a success, making it a profitable opportunity for those looking to buy or sell a garden centre or plant nursery.
• Brexit - Growing industry concerns include Brexit, resulting in changes to imports and exports and a reduction in labour availability. Many horticulture businesses depend on migrant workers for labour work and have shared how the effects of Brexit could result in a significant skills gap. This opens the door to a new era of investment in horticulture education and the much-needed promotion of career prospects in the industry.
• Industry Image - The image of garden centres requires the same level of attraction and appeal as home renovators, high-end restauranteurs and luxury florists, paving the way for innovative and modern thinkers to enter the industry. In addition to making visible improvements, customer value can also be increased through the integration of technology and knowledge sharing.
• Global Warming -Moving on to the fight for climate change, the threat to food production, wildlife extinction and preservation of natural landscapes, ongoing campaigns, such as those directed by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) help put the value of horticulturists on the map. In addition to the preservation of the natural world; plants and flowers can help improve mental and emotional wellbeing, highlighting a greater need for investment in the industry.

How to prepare your garden centre business for sale?

Our business valuation team have experience advising various sized businesses, from nurseries with acres of land to smaller orchards, on calculating business worth and value. We will create an extensive report assessing the value of your garden centre or plant nursery, taking into consideration mitigating factors. We will look further than your profit and loss statement, taking into consideration overheads, gross profit margin and 3 years’ worth of recent/historic accounts. By determining the value of your business, you can take an informed approach when entering into negotiations with a prospective buyer.

How much is my garden centre worth?

We understand that there are many factors which will determine the value of a garden centre or nursery business, which is why our in-house, valuation team will offer direct advice, sharing their first-hand understanding of the industry.  A key factor contributing to the value of your garden centre will include the quantity and quality of land, infrastructure and assets, such as property, machinery and stock.

The formation of garden centres can vary from poly-tunnels, glasshouses, to timber formations with outdoor canopies, forming the starting point for your business valuation. There are different grades of internal structures determined by the likes of heating and ventilation formations and irrigation systems which will contribute to valuing a garden centre business. The location of the garden centre will also determine the value as an urban setting could naturally attract more customers; however, a rural setting could contribute to the quality of plants, flowers, trees, fruit and vegetables on offer.

Value my garden centre & plant nursery business

At Selling My Business, we offer a garden centre business valuation service to help you gauge the business worth and assist in negotiations with prospective buyers to sell your garden centre business fast. Our internal and highly knowledgeable valuation team will guide you through how to value a garden centre or plant nursery business, taking into consideration growth, expansion and redevelopment potential which could influence future income, such as granted planning consent.

Our valuation team have decades of experience in the business transfer industry, including the sale of garden centres, so we can help prepare your business for sale and source a genuine buyer for your business. We are familiar with the challenges faced by the sector such as the threat from mainstream homeware providers and evolving customer expectations. Our team will help you package your business for the attention of a serious buyer actively interested in the purchase of a garden centre or plant nursery business from our database of over 10,000 interested buyers.