On Air Now

This is the Coast

Midnight - 8:00am

  • 01723 336444

Now Playing

New Owner for Scarborough Garden Centre

Bradford-based Yorkshire Garden Centres has announced it is to take over the Deans Garden centre sites in Scarborough and York

The two Dean's Garden Centre sites at York and Scarborough will be added to the group that already has sites at Tong, Tingley, Otley and Bingley in West Yorkshire.

The Dean's business dates back to 1968 when they opened the York store on a four acre site at Stockton on the Forest. This was followed by the acquisition of the eight-acre Scarborough site in 1986.  The business now employs over 100 people and all the roles will transfer with the sale. 

Richard, Helen and Sarah, who are the second generation of the Dean family to run the business, will all enjoy a very well-earned retirement.

Mark Farnsworth, MD of Yorkshire Garden Centres said:

"We are delighted to welcome the Dean's sites into the Yorkshire Garden Centres group in partnership with Altia Estates.

We are grateful to the Dean family for letting us take the business forward, and we intend to continue to use the Dean's name, which has become so well respected over the years. 

Whilst several members of the family retire, we are also really pleased that others have agreed to stay on and continue to work in the business".

Mr. Farnsworth added:

"We set out our ambitions five years ago to grow the group and our four current centres employ nearly 450 people. 

Planning was approved for a new site at Thorp Arch in the middle of last year but, very sadly, the delays due to the COVID pandemic and gaining Planning Permission meant that the scheme was no longer viable which was a real blow as we felt Thorp Arch was a great site. 

Having established a strong management team, when the Dean's opportunity came up we recognised it was a great way to continue our growth journey."

Richard Dean, a partner at Dean's Garden Centre said:

"We are pleased our Centres are joining the Yorkshire Garden Centre group. We have followed their progress with interest and feel that we have many shared values. Having grown up living on the York site, we've been involved in the business in some capacity or other from a very young age. Now though is the right time for my sisters and I to retire, something that I personally was aiming to do in 2021, before Covid hit.

The business can now move forward and provide, what will no doubt be an enhanced shopping experience for our customers. We wish the group the very best of luck as they move forward."  

Mr Farnsworth added:

"We are also incredibly grateful to Antony Harker of Altia Estates for the financial support and faith he has shown in us,"

Mr Harker commented:

"We are delighted to support this opportunity and we wish the whole team at Yorkshire Garden Centres the very best.  I look forward to seeing the sites continue to grow and flourish under their management."

Yorkshire Garden Centres began with the acquisition of Tong Garden Centre by Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson in 2015. They invested £9m to turn Tong from an ailing centre with a disenfranchised team to one of Yorkshire's leading garden centres. The Group's strategy is to operate destination garden centres with a compelling mix of retail, food and play for all the family.

 

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from Yorkshire Coast News

Comments

Add a comment

Log in to the club or enter your details below.

Follow Us

Get Our Apps

Our Apps are now available for iOS, Android and Smart Speakers.

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
  • Just ask Amazon Alexa
  • Available on Roku

Today's Weather

  • Scarborough

    Sunny

    High: 9°C | Low: 6°C

  • Filey

    Sunny

    High: 9°C | Low: 6°C

  • Whitby

    Sunny

    High: 9°C | Low: 2°C

  • Bridlington

    Sunny

    High: 10°C | Low: 6°C

  • Hornsea

    Sunny

    High: 9°C | Low: 7°C

  • Driffield

    Sunny

    High: 11°C | Low: 4°C

News