A family-owned South West garden centre business with roots going back to 1884 has sold a second outlet in as many months, leaving it with a single site.
The disposal of Woodborough Garden Centre, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, means the fourth generation of the founding Self family now own just one outlet – Whitehall Garden Centre at Lacock, near Chippenham.
Woodborough has been acquired by Ranu Ltd, a childcare provider owned by father-and-daughter Rajendra and Anjali Kumar, as its first move into garden centre business.
Ranu operates four children’s nurseries – two in Swindon and one each in Chippenham and Chipping Camden.
In June the Self family sold the Whitchurch Garden Centre in Norton Lane, Bristol. The site, which had been on the market for a year, includes large gift shop, restaurant and farm shop and is renowned for its stunning Christmas displays, often dubbed ‘the best in Bristol’.
It was acquired by Otter Garden Centres, a family-run business based in Ottery St Mary, Devon, which also operates six other sites in the South West.
The Self Family arrived at Whitehall Farm 141 years ago. In the 1970s, they opened a garden centre on the site, turning what had been a hobby and a desire to help the community of Lacock into a thriving business.
It soon became one of the South West’s top destination garden centres and a visitor destination in its own right with farm shops, a Christmas grotto, ice rink and a pet and aquatics centre.
Its three centres between them attracted more than half a million visitors a year.
Claire Self, director of Whitehall Garden Centres, said: “When we made the decision to sell our Woodborough centre, it was important to us as a family to find the right buyer who will continue the store as a garden centre and keep our existing staff in their roles.
“We would like to thank all our dedicated and hard-working staff who have been part of the Whitehall team for many years, and we wish them all the best with the new direction of the store and the future.
“We would also like to thank all our loyal customers who have visited the centre over the years and supported us as a business and family.”
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