Two beloved garden centres in the county have been saved amid planned closures of more than a fifth of its stores nationwide.
Dobbies Garden Centres has sites on Ashford’s Eureka Leisure Park and on Courteney Road in Gillingham. It also has another outlet in nearby Bromley.
However, the firm has today confirmed it will not be bringing the shutters down on either of its Kent locations – despite plans to close 17 stores elsewhere.
In its announcement, Dobbies said: “The restructuring program and other strategic initiatives, are expected to return Dobbies to sustainable profitability through site rationalisations, rent reductions and other tangible cost savings – securing its long-term future and allowing access to future investment.”
The garden centre was founded back in 1865 by James Dobbie and has grown to become one of the best-known garden centre brands.
However, it reported being hit hard by a slew of factors over recent years, including the pandemic, inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and inclement weather all contributing to significant losses.
Its restructuring plan comes 18 months after the American investment management firm Ares took control of the business from Midlothian Capital Partners, having spent almost a decade under the ownership of Tesco.
It had been suggested should a deal not be agreed with its creditors, the next step could be the chain falling into administration.
The closures would impact 465 staff out of its 3,600 workforce and once the closures have been completed, Dobbies will have 60 garden centres left across the UK.
Closures include sites in Reading, Gloucester and Stratford-upon-Avon alongside six “Little Dobbies” stores.
