The UK’s largest garden chain, Dobbies, has announced a raft of store closures, with 17 ‘unprofitable’ shops set to close as part of a restructuring plan.
Dobbies has around 150 years of history in the UK and is well known for seasonal decorations, gifts and outdoor furniture, as well as the plants, growing media and horticultural accessories that are the mainstay of the garden centre trade.
465 employees out of Dobbies’ total workforce of 3,600 will be impacted. The 17 stores set for closure are:
- Altrincham
- Antrim
- Cheltenham (Little Dobbies)
- Chiswick (Little Dobbies)
- Clifton (Little Dobbies)
- Gloucester
- Gosforth
- Harlestone Heath
- Huntingdon
- Inverness
- King’s Lynn
- Pennine
- Reading
- Richmond (Little Dobbies)
- Stockbridge (Little Dobbies)
- Stratford-upon-Avon
- Westbourne Grove (Little Dobbies)
The precise closing date has yet to be confirmed although Dobbies says it will be before the end of this year.
At the time of going to press, the Dobbies chain remains under the ownership of Ares Management, which acquired the company in February 2023. Ares Management, Dobbies and FTI Consulting have put together the restructuring plan, which it says will “address historically uneconomical rent costs and ensure a return to sustainable profitability”
