Garden centre group Notcutts has announced a healthy performance with sales up 5.3% to ?71.3m and operating profits up 57.7% in the year ending February 2017.
The business which has its head office in Woodbridge and operates 18 garden centres around England, said profit before tax increased 114% to ?6.61m.
The company has said that part its development programme is to feature a Notcutts show garden in all its centres
Notcutts chief executive Nick Burrows said: ?We are pleased with another year of progress as we continue with the implementation of our five-year plan.
?There have been many encouraging milestones for us this year in addition to our financial progress. We now have five fully-modernised and updated garden centres in Woodford Park, Norwich, Staines, Tunbridge Wells and Wheatcroft and are well progressed to improve a number of our other centres.?
The designs of the Notcutts show gardens have been the inspiration of Marco De Jongh, head of visual merchandising, and company chairman Nicky Dulieu, who was recently appointed to the commercial board of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Nicky said: ?Expertise in gardening and a rich horticultural heritage are qualities that mark Notcutts out to many of our customers. In our 120th anniversary year, we wanted to celebrate with something iconic to demonstrate this and truly inspire our customers.?
Nicky Dulieu joined Notcutts in 2014 and recruited Nick Burrows as chief executive in 2015. Together with Caroline Notcutt, vice chairman; Bryan Laxton, non-executive director; and Julian Herbert, finance director, they make up the Notcutts group board.
