Blue Diamond acquires 44th Garden Centre!

Our Managing Director, Alan Roper, has announced that the purchase of Fosseway Garden Centres in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire has now completed, along with the purchase of Beckworth Emporium located, Northamptonshire.

This takes Blue Diamond to becoming the largest turnover garden centre group in the UK, with a turnover in excess of £300 million.

Northamptonshire's best-loved garden centre, Beckworth is located in Mears Ashby, nestled in the Northamptonshire countryside near the Sywell Aerodrome, not far from the A14. The centre has a total turnover of £9.3m of which over 60% is restaurant and food related (£3.5m catering, 2.0m food sales) which we will develop further whilst significantly growing the horticultural and gardening sales.  A Blue Diamond clothing department will be added next year.

The centre has developed a strong AB1 demographic over the years and has developed a strong brand in the minds of its customers. Alan says he will "make it his mission" to keep the heart and soul of this wonderful business beating strongly.

Fosseway Garden Centre was established by husband-and-wife team Tim and Gill Godwin. With a family history of dairy farming, they bought the plot near Moreton-in-Marsh with 100 acres of arable land and set out on what they thought was a farming future ahead of them.   

Fosseway Farm Plants started as a bit of a side-line but gained in popularity over the next few years becoming a major enterprise and in 1997 became Fosseway Garden Centre.

The garden centre currently has sales of almost £9m.  It has been a member of Choice Marketing, the garden centre buying and marketing combine, since 2017.

Alan says he was attracted by the site’s scale, location and being in the heart of the Cotswolds has a population that perfectly fits Blue Diamond target demographic. It’s a good template to quickly convert to a Blue Diamond offer.