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Brothers decide to sell UK-leading garden plants firm

Written by Business Weekly

Friday, 02 June 2000

Leading UK garden plants supplier, SB England Ltd of Wisbech, has been sold to Lingarden, the cut flower producer in Spalding. Leading UK garden plants supplier, SB England Ltd of Wisbech, has been sold to Lingarden, the cut flower producer in Spalding. SB England supplies potted garden plants to UK supermarkets. It has increased sales by 500% in the last 10 years to become market leader, selling 300 varieties and supplying superstores with over half their potted plants. The company employs 40 permanent staff - rising to 100 at peak times of the year. Not only are all the jobs secure, but also the new owner predicts more will be created in due course. SB England developed as a family business and, prior to the sale, was owned by three brothers; James, Philip and Mark England. The brothers decided to sell because they felt the company needed greater management expertise to maintain progress, while allowing them to concentrate on their rose growing business. Lingarden is a former farmers’ co-operative. The sale was negotiated by corporate finance specialist, Watersheds, with legal advice from Shoosmiths. The business will continue to operate from both sites - with SB England’s 10-acre premises at Grassgate Lane, Wisbech providing ample room for further expansion. It includes 15,000 sq ft of offices, a large storage facility, packing house and three nursery tunnels. There is enough space to double the existing output.

 

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