Notcutts looks set to sell its nursery division in a bid to concentrate its focus on retail and landscaping.
The company announced proposals this week to sell Notcutts Nurseries to a team led by John Lord and John Kirkum, managing director and finance director respectively of the nursery business.
Lord and Kirkum have established a new limited company with which they intends to purchase the nurseries. Charles Notcutt will become president of the new company, with completion expected to take place in September.
Notcutt’s deputy chairman, William Notcutt, said that a strategic review had revealed the need to refocus the business. “The environment in which we operate is highly competitive and requires a more focused approach; the dual demands of being a retailer and grower were becoming increasingly challenging.”
Notcutt explained that while his firm would no longer own and run the nurseries, its plants will continue to be grown for them by the nursery and their business relationship would continue.
John Lord said: “Over recent years UK nurseries have been through some tough trading times, however the strategy we put in place two years ago… puts us in a far stronger position for the future.
“As a stand alone business, continuing with the existing teams, we will react faster in order to further develop our customer focus and to be able to maximise every opportunity and this independence far outweighs the advantages we had as part of a larger organisation.”
No comments yet