First phase of garden centre redevelopment nears full bloom
A garden centre situated between Leeds and Bradford is on the verge of completing the first stage of its ongoing expansion plans, with support from a seven-figure HSBC UK funding package.
Tong Garden Centre is expecting to complete the construction of a 4,000 sq ft warehouse later this month.
The new facility will have capacity for 400 pallets of stock and will support the business to meet demand both online and in store.
Tong Garden Centre was acquired by Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson in 2015 and occupies a 17 acre site in Tong village. The centre is Yorkshire’s biggest independent garden centre with 110,000 sq ft of retail space and parking for up to 700 cars.
The redevelopment of the centre includes a new two storey building, a new plant canopy, a bespoke soft play and event space and the development of the lakeside area with log cabins for educational and horticultural use
Due to be completed in 2021, the expansion of Tong Garden Centre is expected to create up to 40 new jobs.
Charlie Barker, finance director at YGC Group, the parent company of Tong Garden Centre, said: “Completing the new warehouse will provide a fantastic boost to the business, as we look to build on a great platform.
“We have just completed a strong Christmas trading period, with annual turnover now exceeding £9m. With these proposed developments in place and increasing online customer demand, we expect to see strong double digit growth over the next three years.”
Andy Mears, centre manager at Tong Garden Centre, added: “Tong Garden Centre has a very special place in the hearts of the local community. Whilst we are, and always will be, a garden centre led by gardening products, we will now be so much more than a garden centre.
“The soft play will be a great addition to our current outdoor play facilities and the new events space offers exciting possibilities for customer events, and workshops, family experiences and community initiatives.”
James McCullough, relationship director for West and South Yorkshire, HSBC UK, also said: “YGC Group has restored Tong to the iconic garden centre that it once was and the centre does a fantastic job at ensuring the satisfaction of its customers.
“Those that have visited know that Tong Garden Centre is much more than a garden centre and the scale of redevelopment takes this to the next level. Opening a new warehouse of this size shows that YGC understand the benefits of matching experiential and online retail offerings.”
The deal was part of HSBC UK’s £1.05bn lending fund to support SMEs in Yorkshire.
