RHS Enterprises Ltd. known for selling plants, horticultural books, and publications – operates plant centres, shops, catering facilities, flower shows, and mail order/online order services.
RHS gardens and shops are in a solid operating position, attracting nearly 3 million visitors and stable membership. That premise ensured that despite the challenging trading conditions, RHS Enterprises Ltd. turnover (in the year up to 31 January 2024) achieved £24.6m, down from £25.2m in previous year – with an operating profit of £6.6m (£6.5m in 2023).
Visitor numbers to all five gardens fell by 5% to 2.95m, which at RHS Wisley is impacted by the “extremely disruptive National Highways road widening scheme at the A3/M25 junction” which is making visitor journeys to the garden more difficult and/or less appealing. The weather has also not been conducive for garden visiting with lengthy periods of wind, rain and snow (some resulting in closures) as opposed to the higher temperatures seen in prior years.
Fewer garden visitors saw an expected retail sales decrease from £16.9m to £15.9m, with the average transaction remaining flat (year on year) – reflecting the impact of costs of living crisis and inflation on consumer disposable incomes. Details of the performance of the RHS pilot shop, The Plant Place will be revealed in the near future. The company did report that their online retail trading has bounced back from last year’s decline.
Events are performing for the company. An increased number of events were held in the Horticultural Halls which resulted in an income from £1.1m – £1.3m. Event sponsorship income represented £3.4m for the year, an increase of £0.3m. Royalty and commission income through licensing RHS brands, images and retailed on the high street fell from £1.6m to £1.5m.
Considering the company’s established risk management policies to ensure the Society and subsidiaries have sufficient cash and cash investment reserves in place to continue to fund operations, the directors report to have “reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue operational existence for the foreseeable future”.
In terms of the future outlook, whilst inflation is returning to normal levels, and interest rates indicate a downward trend, consumer disposable incomes remain challenged. RHS Enterprises report that whilst they must continue to protect company income, they are working to manage their cost bases to minimise price increases and to provide value for money – a key driver for leisure activities. That includes, ongoing work to expand the membership offering and experience.