The UK‘s third-largest garden centre retailer Blue Diamond has reported soaring profits amid continued growth efforts.
In the year to Decemeber 31 2016 Blue Diamond reported a 28 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to £8.5 million alongside like-for-like increases of eight per cent.
Meanwhile its estate grew by 12 per cent, seeing it purchase its 20th centre this year which it plans to invest £4.5 million in. It plans to open the doors to the 140,000 sq ft space in March 2018.
It also acquired two more outlets in Essex and Cambridge over the period. It plans to continue its expansion drive with ambitions to double turnover to £180 million by 2022.
“I believe that Blue Diamond‘s consistent growth has come because we are successful in exploiting the opportunities of an increasingly broader non-gardening offer that the modern garden centre now conveys, whilst continuing to remain credible and authoritative in our core gardening offer,” managing director Alan Roper said.
“This is in contrast to the concession-led and relatively undifferentiated offer that is prevalent in most of the sector. Recent upheavals elsewhere in the industry are testament to the challenges of keeping pace with a changing market.”
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