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The Wyevale sale process that began in May 2018 and ended on 10 September 2019 meant the end of the garden retailer, which opened its first garden centre in 1967 in Hereford and was bought by Terra Firma for £276m in 2012.
Deloitte's Stephen Roland Browne and Clare Boardman were appointed joint liquidators of Wyevale Garden Centre companies on 28 May 2020 as the company entered a members' voluntary liquidation. Owner Terra Firma sold all 145 Wyevale centres to 57 purchasers in 2018-19. The famous old name has disappeared after Wyevale was broken up once Terra Firma could not find a buyer for the chain.
The sales campaign by agent Christies reached 60,000 people and promoted an aggregate guide price of £444m, with centres ranging from £200,000 to £35m (Woodcote Green, bought by Dobbies). Some 40 sold in 2018 and the rest in 2019, making overall returns of £430m. Turnover for 2018 was £235.1m, down from £259.5m in 2017. Operating loss was £34.1m (£17.1m).
The amount realised pleased Terra Firma, while the timing proved to be good. Had the coronavirus crisis happened during the sell-off, it would have left the private equity owner with an unsaleable asset. However, just as the owners of the former Wyevale centres prepared for the 2020 season, coronavirus shut them down from 23 March to 13 May. Restaurants and soft play areas, a focus for Wyevale, closed for even longer. The new owners have made the best of it and, as it was, the sell-off was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the shape of the market.
Dobbies now...