May 2018: Orchard Park garden centre has been sold to Blue Diamond. The garden centre, which is situated just outside Gillingham in Dorset is set to become the company’s 21st centre. Gilbert Evans acted on behalf of Orchard Park.
“We’re absolutely delighted that Blue Diamond will be taking over the business”, commented Richard Cumming, Managing Director of Orchard Park. “We’ve worked hard with our staff to create a business which is successful at a local and regional level and has lots of potential”.
The garden centre was built in 2004 on a green field site and has developed a strong customer base. It is on an 8 acre and has an existing planning consent to expand it more than three-fold to create a 50,000 sq ft lifestyle centre. “Orchard Park is a very well located centre. It has a loyal customer base and we were particularly attracted by the opportunity of developing the centre and moving the business forward”, said Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond.
Mike Gilbert, Gilbert Evans, added: “There’s a strong demand for well-run garden centres with potential. We approached a limited number of parties and received
very strong interest.”