Blooming Dobbies rakes in £5 million

Published on Tuesday 8 February 2005 13:28

FAST-GROWING garden centre chain Dobbies has seen profits rise rapidly in the last year, despite a "damp spring and late summer", and said that it is continuing to develop "a pipeline of new sites".

The Lasswade-based firm, which owns 18 sites in Scotland and England, is working on a 20-acre development in Stirling, which will open in March and feature "Scotland’s biggest maze".

Pre-tax profits for the 12 months to October 31 were up by 25.8 per cent on the year before, to a total of 5.2 million. Turnover for the year rose 17.2 per cent to 54.1m, the first time Dobbies has passed the 50m sales barrier.

However, chief executive James Barnes warned that rising cost pressures could impact on profits in the next financial year. "Utility rates are up way above sales, and rate charges, our second biggest cost after wages, are going up by more than sales," he cautioned.

The company expanded its retail base over the year, with a new store in Ayr and a major expansion at its Dundee site.

Its strategy to make Dobbies garden centres "destination" attractions was put into practice with the introduction of new product areas, particularly "Farm Foodhalls", which "specialise in local produce but with a broader delicatessen overlay".

Mr Barnes said the new Stirling centre would include a foodhall, and added that foodhalls opened last year at Lasswade and Ayr garden centres made a good contribution to the overall sales figure.

He added that the outlook for the company was "exciting".

Mr Barnes said: "We have two new developments to come on-stream in the current financial year, a major redevelopment of our store at Ponteland [near Newcastle] in the north-east of England, and a new 20-acre development at Stirling.

"Although these will put pressure on our interim profits in the current year, they will both be showpiece garden centres in their regions and will contribute positively in the second half," he added.

He said that despite consumer spending this year being "the big unknown" he remained confident about the long term prospects of the garden leisure industry.

"There are more people now with gardens, and there’s an interest in gardening as a healthy pursuit," he said.

"People now want to grow their own vegetables and fruit trees - the healthy eating trend is benefiting us."