Wyevale Garden Centres has sold eight branches to peer Blue Diamond.

The affected stores are:

  • Bicester, Oxfordshire;
  • Endsleigh, Devon;
  • Sanders, Burnham-on-sea;
  • Cadbury, Bristol;
  • Cardiff;
  • Percy Thrower, Shrewsbury;
  • Melbicks, Birmingham; and
  • Weybridge, Surrey.

Blue Diamond managing director Alan Roper said: “We are delighted to be acquiring these fantastic centres. Over the next three years we plan to invest £16m to remodel and transform them into destination centres.”

Wyevale has also agreed the sale of two other centres, in Alfold, Surrey, and Binfield, Berkshire, and land next to its centre in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

All three sites are likely to be redeveloped for residential use.

Wyevale said it has received “a significant number of offers for all or part of the remaining business from national, regional and financial operators as well as local entrepreneurs”.

Private equity firm Terra Firma Capital put Wyevale up for sale in May.

The retailer, which suffered a £117.8m pre-tax loss in 2016, said then it was open to all offers, including piecemeal sales or a single suitor for the 145-store chain.

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