Whitehall Garden Centre at Whitchurch Village has been sold to another family-run company.
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The popular centre at Norton Lane reopened on Wednesday, 25th June as Otter Garden Centre.
Founded in 1970, Whitehall retains its garden centres at Lacock and Woodborough in Wiltshire.
In a message to customers, Claire Self, Whitehall’s director said: “When we made the decision to sell our Whitchurch centre, it was important to us as a family to find the right buyer that will continue the store as a garden centre and keep our existing staff in their roles, some of which have been part of the Whitehall team for nearly 20 years.
“We are very pleased that Otter Garden Centres have bought the store; like us they are an independent family business with strong heritage and values.
“We have worked closely with them as a family for many years now and their business values align with our own; with a large part of their business being focused on own grown plants and gardening, we feel this will suit the centre well.
“We would like to thank all of our dedicated and hard-working staff that have been part of the Whitehall team for many years, and we wish them all the best with the new direction of the store and the future with Otter.
“We would also like to thank all of our loyal customers who have visited the centre over the years and supported us as a business and family.”
Otter, which was founded in 1964, said it was “thrilled” to acquire its eighth garden centre.
Its other sites are at Wincanton and Taunton in Somerset, Ottery St Mary, Plymouth, Torbay and Bishopsteignton in Devon, and Lymington in Hampshire.
The company has confirmed that all existing team members will remain and there will be no significant changes to the day-to-day running of the garden centre. The Orangery Restaurant and farm shop will continue to operate as usual.
Otter’s MD Jacqui Taylor said: “We have known the Self family for many years now and have always admired their way of running an independent family business.
“What really appealed to us was how closely their ethos aligns with our own: family-run, customer-focused and with a strong commitment to quality and sustainability.
“Like Otter, they are known for offering exceptional plants, something we know our customers really value.
“We will be supplying the Whitchurch garden centre with plants from our own growing nurseries, which we are sure our new customers will love.”
