Owner will join Wyevale board
Wyevale Garden Centres has unveiled its first acquisition since going private earlier this year.

The purchase of Bridgemere Garden World, a family owned store, gives Wyevale one of the UK's largest garden centres and is located close to the M6 near Stoke-on-Trent.

John Ravenscroft, who has owned Bridegmere for the past 40 years, will become a member of the Wyevale advisory board.

Wyevale was acquired for£323 million earlier this year by private equity company West Coast Capital (WCC).

Under WCC ownership, a new management team led by chairman Jim Hodkinson and chief executive Barry Stevenson, a former director of B&Q and Marks & Spencer, has been leading the revitalisation of Wyevale.

Jim Hodkinson said: 'This demonstrates our determination to build on our strong platform of market leadership within the garden centre industry.

'Bridgemere is already a very successful business and fits perfectly into our existing geographical coverage. It was an opportunity we couldn't miss.'