Country Food & Dining, the farm shop-meets-restaurant and deli operator chaired by pub and brewing veteran David Bruce, is to be introduced into selected sites operated by Garden Centre Group, the UK’s largest chain of garden centres, M&C Report has learnt.
The format could be introduced to around a dozen garden centres over the next six months or so, in a move that’s expected to be a prelude to a potential trade sale of Country Food & Dining, possibly to a supermarket group.
The first collaboration will be at a site in Chichester, West Sussex, which will be branded as “the Farm shop at Chichester”.
Under the deal, Country Food & Dining, which currently operates eight sites across the country, pays no ingoing costs and receives 15% of net profits from the farm shop and additional services including a restaurant, deli, fishmonger, bakery and butcher.
“We’ll hopefully do half a dozen in the next six months if we can find the sites,” said Bruce. “We’re using our expertise to help them develop their own places and we get about £100,000 a year for zero investment. It’s a win, win.”
Country Food & Dining was founded seven years ago by Gordon Leatherdale, who had worked with Bruce to raise money under his Capital Pub Company venture. It trades under four Enterprise Investment Scheme companies that raised £7.5m in total to fund the growth.
Its first site was Cobbs Farm Shop & Kitchen, which includes a 100-cover restaurant and has seen sales increased four-fold over seven years to £2m annually. “It’s just going from strength to strength,” said Bruce.
He expects a sale of Country Food & Dining to be sought after the qualifying period for the most recent EIS company expires next May.
“If we can do, say, six this of these in the next year, that would be 14; and possibly six next year, that would bring us up to 20. We’ll be looking for our exit. Someone like Garden Centre Group might buy it, or Tesco Express.
“The time is right. Supermarkets will be looking at people like us to buy.”
Bruce, the Firkin pub chain founder who also co-founded City Pub Company and is executive chairman of West Berkshire Brewery, rejected moves towards an AIM flotation for Country Food & Dining due to the cost and the fact it leaves companies “vulnerable” to a hostile takeover bid.
“It’s a trade sale only,” he stressed.
Garden Centre Group, which is backed by Guy Hands’ investment vehicle Terra Firma and operates 140 sites across the country, is set to be rebranded as Wyevale Garden Centres.
