Shinfield Garden Centre, now under British Garden Centres’ ownership, reopened this weekend, with many shoppers visiting to see the changes and the new store. The refurbished centre and restaurant were busy with customers early on, with queues of people snaking around the car park wanting to shop for their gardens, cementing the site as a valuable addition to the local community.
Shinfield Garden Centre in Hyde End Road, Reading, has reopened after being acquired by the UK’s largest family-owned garden centre group. Celebrity gardener David Domoney and Labour MP Yuan Yang from the Earley and Woodley constituency officially cut the ribbon to open the store, which was soon full of eager gardeners and families waiting to explore and see the changes. David also gave a standing room only talk on the ideal plants for spring, as well as providing garden inspiration that visitors could take home and implement in their outdoor space.
The new store offers plants, sundries, garden accessories, homeware, gifts, and the Fern Living outdoor furniture range, which is exclusive to British Garden Centres. On hand are friendly staff to provide advice and inspiration to make sure your outdoor space is the best in the Thames Valley.
The Gardener’s Retreat Restaurant has been expanded and is now home to a brand new menu of delicious, freshly prepared meals, light bites, and sweet treats to refuel after a spot of shopping.
The opening weekend also saw hundreds of eager shoppers sign up for the Family Card, which will see them receive exclusive offers and invites to exclusive events throughout the year.
The centre is fully accessible to wheelchair users, has plenty of free parking, and even offers a home delivery service for larger items. Shinfield Garden Centre is also dog-friendly, with many bringing their four-legged friends along, too.
Emily Bartholomew from British Garden Centres said, “We’re thrilled to join the Shinfield community and were so happy to see the local residents come out in force to the reopening of the much loved store. We aim to make our site not just a garden centre but a local destination. Whether seeking plant advice, browsing garden furniture, or enjoying a cup of tea, we hope you’ll love what we have done with the store.”
British Garden Centres (BGC) is the UK’s largest family-owned garden centre group with 72 centres around the country. The group is owned and led by The Stubbs family, who also own and operate Woodthorpe Leisure Park in Lincolnshire.
BGC was launched in 1987 with the opening of Woodthorpe Garden Centre by brothers Charles and Robert Stubbs. Since 2018 it has expanded rapidly with the acquisition of 50 garden centres allowing it to grow from its heartland to the business it is now with 72 garden centres spread from Carmarthen to Ramsgate, Wimborne to East Durham.
The group has a team of 3000 colleagues working across the garden centres, restaurants, growing nurseries, distribution centres, Woodthorpe Leisure Park, and Woody’s Restaurant & Bar.
Photo credits Paul King
Source Cassie King British garden Centres
