Garden centres driving up income with restaurants and leisure
Garden centre groups have continued to consolidate over the past few months and are looking to develop restaurants and leisure across their existing portfolios.
Hodges' Graeme Jones says projects such as this are typical now, with the restaurant at Garsons in Esher, Surrey, a prime example of how a centre can reach a seven-figure catering income by creating an "interesting" building.
Planning consultancy Pleydell Smithyman's Paul Pleydell is working at Squire's and Knights in Surrey as well as on an extension at Coolings in Kent. Two typical projects are a 350-seat restaurant at Henry Street Garden Centre in Reading, which is tendering at the moment, and a restaurant extension at Pacific Nurseries in the Midlands, which has planning permission.
Pleydell points to a restaurant/farm shop focus to development but with diversification, particularly into soft play, which is good for gross and net trading margin and does not cost a lot to fit out. But retailers must be aware of how this type of project fits within their centre, he adds. Projects are not just about retail but also about leisure and services, such as vets. Bents is an example with ideas for health spas and mini golf.
"There's optimism out there," says Pleydell. "People are being quite strategic. Rather than just putting something up and selling out of it, they now understand what their customers are doing and the vision and objectives of their business."