Terra Firma partially exits Wyevale Garden Centres

The centres will continue to trade as Wyevale over the coming weeks, with completion of the sales phased from late May through to the end of June.

This transaction follows a series of divestments made by the GP, after it mandated business property adviser Christie & Co to advise on the sale of Wyevale in May 2018.

The GP sold a portfolio of eight centres to trade buyer Blue Diamond in July 2018, with a further two sold to undisclosed buyers. Subsequently, Terra Firma sold five additional centres and one single site to Dobbies in two separate transactions both inked in October 2018.

Following this last sale, Wyevale will continue to operate 60 centres in the UK and a further four centres under licence.

Previous funding
Terra Firma acquired Wyevale (then known as The Garden Centre Group) from Lloyds in a £276m EV deal in March 2012. The GP invested in the company via its third fund, Terra Firma Capital Partners III, a €5.4bn vehicle that held its final close in May 2007 and reported a net IRR of -10.5% in March 2018, according to an investor in the fund. Last year, Terra Firma secured a 12-month extension to the vehicle's lifespan in order to facilitate the sale of remaining assets.

Wyevale underwent a refinancing in 2017, with a group of lenders including Hayfin, Barclays and Lloyds providing a £141.5m debt package.

Company
Established in 1932 and headquartered in Brentford, Middlesex, Wyevale is a garden centre operator. The group has three main sources of income: the sale of gardening and associated retail products; on-site food and beverage outlets; and lease income from concession space let to third-party retailers. The company generated a turnover of £259.5m and reported operating loss of £17.1m in 2017, according to publicly available documents.

People
Terra Firma – Justin King (vice-chair).
Wyevale Garden Centres – Anthony Jones (chief operating officer).
Dobbies Garden Centres – Graeme Jenkins (CEO).

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• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• Terra Firma
• United Kingdom
• Partial sale
• Trade sale