Business

Changes to the buying team at British Garden Centres

The family-run garden centre group, British Garden Centres has announced significant changes within its plant buying team.

British Garden Centres plant centre

For 2025, the British Garden Centres (BGC) buying team welcomes Mandy Warry and Phoebe Cater to the plant team. Both have extensive backgrounds in buying and are to play a pivotal role in nurturing the company’s existing partnerships and forging new ones across the country.

Mandy Warry previously worked at Langlands Garden Centres, which was acquired by the British Garden Centres group in the summer of 2024 and has extensive horticultural experience. Phoebe Cater comes to the plant buying team from Cherry Lane Garden Centres/QD Stores, where she held various positions and managed multiple categories in plant buying. Warry and Cater report into Group Buying Director, Scott McCabe and led by Julian Palphramand, BGC Head of Plants.

Tom Cook has left the British Garden Centres family after five years, having previously worked as Horticultural Manager at the Hillview Group for 11 years before it was acquired by Stubbs.

Scott McCabe, Group Buying Director at British Garden Centres said: “We’re excited to welcome Mandy and Phoebe to our plant buying team. Their extensive experience and passion for horticulture will undoubtedly strengthen our plant offering and help us continue to deliver exceptional quality to our customers. At the same time, we want to thank Tom Cook for his significant contributions to British Garden Centres over the past five years. His expertise and dedication have been invaluable, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

British Garden Centres is owned and led by The Stubbs family, who also own and operate Woodthorpe Leisure Park in Lincolnshire. BGC was launched in 1987 with the opening of Woodthorpe Garden Centre by brothers Charles and Robert Stubbs. Since 2018 it has expanded rapidly with the acquisition of 50 garden centres allowing it to grow from its heartland to the business it is now with 65 garden centres spread from Carmarthen to Ramsgate, Wimborne to East Durham.

The group has a team of 2,700 colleagues working across the garden centres, restaurants, growing nurseries, distribution centres, Woodthorpe Leisure Park, and Woody’s Restaurant & Bar.