Future of huge Dobbies near M5 opened by DJ Jo Whiley revealed

Graeme Jenkins, Chief Executive of Dobbies; Jo Whiley, Broadcaster; Daisy Payne, Presenter; Sam Field, Tewkesbury General Store Manager
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


A flagship Dobbies garden centre that was opened in Gloucestershire by radio and TV presenter Jo Whiley two years ago is not on a list of 17 stores due to close. The branch, off junction 9 of the motorway near Tewkesbury, will remain open.

Dobbies Garden Centres said the proposed national closures are part of a restructuring plan to help return the business to profit and reduce its rent bill. The plan, which will need approval by creditors, will see the firm shut 11 larger Dobbies sites and six Little Dobbies by the end of the year.

These include the Gloucester store, just off junction 12 of the M5, and the Little Dobbies in Promenade, Cheltenham, which only opened in April 2023. Sites will continue to operate as normal until the restructuring process is given the green light.

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The group said the closure will affect 465 workers, of which 82 are full-time, of the company’s roughly 3,600 strong workforce. Dobbies will also work with landlords in order to secure temporary rent reductions at nine further stores and stressed that the process will not affect its suppliers.

It was on Thursday, November 3, 2022 that Glastonbury stalwart Jo Whiley did the honours and opened the Dobbies in Diamond Road, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury. She was joined by ITV This Morning's gardening expert Daisy Payne to declare it open.

While a substantial store in its own right, this Dobbies is phase one of a wider development that will see the Cotswold Designer Outlet shopping destination open next year. Work is continuing on this with a number of big names reportedly signed up.

Opening of little dobbies new store on Promenade, Cheltenham. 27 April 2023

 
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Opening of little dobbies new store on Promenade, Cheltenham. 27 April 2023 -Credit:Thousand Word Media/Andrew Higgins

The Little Dobbies in Cheltenham opened at the former Gap store in the Promenade, Cheltenham on April 27, 2023. Little Dobbies is an urban format of the large Dobbies Garden Centre, with a greater focus on home gardening with houseplants and small-space gardening products that allow people to grow vegetables with little or no outdoor space

The garden centre chain, which was bought by investment firm Ares Management last year, fell to a £105.2 million pre-tax loss in the year to March 2023, against a £7 million loss a year earlier, according to its most-recently filed company accounts.

The company said: “The restructuring plan, 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.

“Thereafter, Dobbies will operate 60 stores and continue to play a key role in the market, working constructively with stakeholders and suppliers, and having an active and committed role in the communities in which it’s based.”

The following stores are planned to close

Larger stores

  • Altrincham, Greater Manchester

  • Antrim, Northern Ireland

  • Gloucester, Gloucestershire

  • Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  • Harlestone Heath, Northamptonshire

  • Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

  • -nverness, Scotland

  • King’s Lynn, Norfolk

  • Pennine, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

  • Reading, Berkshire

  • Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

Little Dobbies

  • Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

  • Chiswick, Greater London

  • Clifton , Bristol

  • Richmond, Greater London

  • Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland

  • Westbourne Grove, Greater London