NatWest £1.6m funds Planters garden centre acquisition

Bradley Nursery and Garden Centre began as a nursery selling plants grown on site and now also houses a pet shop and an onsite restaurant. Following the acquisition the centre will be renamed as Garden King Bradley. It will be the fourth garden centre in the Planters portfolio, based at Tamworth. They have a centre in Swadlincote operating under the Garden King brand, as well as a centre at Bretby in Staffordshire which is also a Planters unit.

The Midlands structured finance team at NatWest have advanced £1.6m to effect the acquisition and support investment going into the Bradley operation.

Gerald Ingram, director at Planters Garden Centre said:

"We like the strategical fit of Bradleys. Over 21 years we have constantly developed and invested in Tamworth and today we run one of the West Midlands largest independent garden centres. Bradleys is also a family operation so we share a similar ethos to gardening and customer service. The acquisition extends our footprint and allows us to develop further for the future from a stronger operational base."

Nic Hanlon, director, structured finance at NatWest added:

"The management team at Planters have a proven track record of running a successful garden centre. They will now benefit from the resulting economies of scale and additional revenue lines."