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In 1975, Alec McIntyre acquired the lease of John Edwards Rose Nursery in Worcester Park, Surrey, and that started a 50 year career for his son, our Managing Director Keith McIntyre, that would (with a lot of help from some incredible people and companies along the way) play a significant part in changing the industry.
The first garden centre in the UK had opened 18 years earlier at Stewarts of Christchurch, and many observers say that Stewarts didn’t receive the recognition they deserved for having the vision and courage to invest in, and create what has proved to be such an innovative, and industry changing idea. Within a few years “garden centres” were springing up everywhere, but most were no more than a small wooden building housing a few horticultural supplies, with some plants for sale, whereas Stewarts actually built a large retail shop, a tarmac carpark and the basic infrastructure of what we all recognise as a modern day garden centre.
About ten years later, on June 12th 1968 the first garden centre at a stately home was opened by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on the Duke of Northumberland’s Estate at Syon Park, Isleworth, Middlesex and that was followed with garden centres at Blenheim Palace and Woburn. By 1970 however Syon Park had become a national phenomenon, with a permanent 50 acre gardening exhibition created around its Capability Brown Landscaped Gardens, led by Percy Thrower in conjunction with ICI. The exhibition showcased “all that was best in British Horticulture”, including the historic plant producers of Waterers, Notcutts, Squires, and Hillier and Syon Park became known as “The National Centre for Gardening”, attracting over 1 million visitors a year.
The garden centre at Syon Park is still a very popular London garden centre, with a horticultural history of national importance, and it has also played an important part in our history, but more about that later.
The McIntyre family Rose Nursery was a 5 acre site at Old Malden lane, Worcester Park (opposite the Hogsmill Tavern) which traded as Worcester Park Nurseries. In 1976 Alec and his team were growing 20,000 roses, with long stem cut blooms for florists and bushes, climbers and standards for retail customers. In the 1970’s garden centres were very different to today’s multi-retail destination sites, and operating a horticultural business, selling just gardening products relied on good gardening weather, because heavy rain on Spring weekends could significantly reduce the anticipated sales.
Worcester Park Nurseries gradually diversified into hardy nursery stock, garden centre supplies, houseplants, bulk soil, fencing turf and Christmas trees which moved the business towards becoming a small garden centre. In 1982 Keith acquired his own garden centre in Earls Barton, Northamptonshire and to mitigate the effect of the weather and broaden the appeal of the site, he began working in partnership with other specialist businesses, renting space to a garden building company and then an aquatic retailer…….the “first franchise” model was born.
This concept of a ‘franchise’ is a Licence given by a business to another legal entity, allowing that entity to trade under the hosts branding, whilst following set procedures and guidelines. A franchise, was the closest model to renting out space on garden centres, so those early arrangements became known as ‘franchises’, even though the businesses operated under their own brand and rules. The Earls Barton site was sold in 1987, and Keith moved to the Cramphorn Garden Centre Group where he first met property expert Stephen Cooper, who has been the First Franchise Property Expert for the last 20 years and recognised as a leading garden centre industry planning advisor.
The Cramphorn Group was sold to Wyevale PLC in 1991, and the following year Keith became Managing Director of the Great Gardens of England Group, with its flagship garden centre at the prestigious Syon Park. This move allowed the development of the ‘franchise’ model across multiple sites and later that year David Lawrence the owner of Maidenhead Aquatics, (now the leading aquatic concession company in Europe with over 170 stores), opened their 11th 12 & 13th stores at Syon Park and two other garden centres within the Great Gardens of England Group.
A pivotal moment came in 1998, when the Great Gardens of England Group, was sold to Wyevale Garden Centres PLC and Keith joined Wyevale and then had access to the groups 75 sites. He worked again with Stephen Cooper and also met Sally Edwards, and Richard Lewis and together they developed the ‘franchise’ model, connecting with multiple retailers. In 2000 Wyevale acquired Country Gardens which added a further 39 sites and with other acquisitions Wyevale had 120 garden centres. The franchise model was rolled out across the group and Wyevale became one of the Countries most significant Landlords, with 100’s of ‘franchises’ and rental income over 30% of the groups profit.
In November 2000, First Franchise Limited was formed with the support of London Investment Banker Ian Silverton. Paul Elston the Managing Director of Bowland Stone, commissioned FF to develop a franchise system for his paving company King Acre Landscapes, and the system was written by Alison Bond who had joined the company to assist with legal and administration. Over the next few years, King Acre Landscapes opened on multiple garden centre sites, and other companies started to express interest, to expand into garden centres.
In September 2004 “First Franchise” was launched at GLEE, (the garden centre markets annual show at the NEC Birmingham) backed by Bowland Stone, Cotton Traders, Maidenhead Aquatics, Pets Corner, The Framing Company, Anglian Windows, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, The Works, Craft Central, Yeomans Camping and the ‘franchise’ model was seen by the garden centre industry for the first time. Over the next few years, other retail brands became part of the First Franchise portfolio and the model was taken across the industry, with 1000’s of new business established on garden centres.
With the success the term “Franchise” was phased out as a description of the business activity, and the term “Concession” became widely accepted. Stephen Cooper, Sally Edwards, Richard Lewis, Sue Franks and Daren Templeman, all joined First Franchise from Wyevale, bringing their extensive property and concession experience to the team, Paul Stevens developed food concessions and Elaine Silverton became part of the team to oversee the management accounts. Kerry McIntyre and Chelsea Watson then joined to strengthen, marketing, administration and online presence, John Foley has been the design & creative inspiration for our brand from the start, and Robert McIntyre oversees all our construction projects.
Over the next 20 years First Franchise supported and worked with every major garden centre group and all the leading independent garden centres, helping them develop concession models. The First Franchise team introduced the majority of the leading retail brands, as Concession Partners into garden centres and many have become household names. First Franchise established over 3000 new concession businesses and generated over £300m of rental income for the garden centre industry.
With the breakup of the Wyevale Group in 2018, First Franchise managed the concession integration for many of the major garden centre groups, and ensured that the concession businesses moved smoothly across from Wyevale to their new Landlords. Blue Diamond led the acquisition of the key Wyevale sites, and First Franchise became the groups concession management partner, enabling Alan Roper and his team focus on running the garden centre business without having to worry about the stability of the concession income.
The final Wyevale site to close was the head office at Syon Park and First Franchise was engaged by Northumberland Estates to find the next operator for this historic venue. Hillier Garden Centre Group was the chosen partner, and they are now taking the Garden Centre forward with the Duke of Northumberland’s team, following the great legacy of the early garden centre pioneers, that once rightly claimed Syon Park was “The Greatest National Gardening Exhibition on Earth”.
After 50 years of developing partnerships and helping garden centres become retail destinations, the innovation continues and the First Franchise team are developing new ideas with a view of introducing them to the garden centre industry. These latest innovations include the introduction of cutting edge technologies, linked to commercial hydroponic units, that will help garden centres become an even more valuable location for the communities they serve.
The prospect that garden centres could use world leading technology to become a central part in the future development of AI, linked to food production, which is deemed critical to the UK’s strategic growth, is incredible; and perhaps the saying “mighty oaks from small acorns grow” is a good analogy of the last 50 years development of the garden centre, from the once ‘humble’ rose nursery, into the thriving community retail destinations they are today.
Our first concession installation was in 1982 with the introduction of a conservatory “franchise” on our own garden centre. in 1994 Maidenhead Aquatics opened 3 concessions in Great Gardens of England. Edinburgh Woollen Mill opened 10 stores with Wyevale in 1998, the first multi-site installations, and Cotton Traders first concession was in 2000 at Wyevale Swindon.
In 2000 First Franchise Limited became a reality and developed the King Acre Landscape franchise for Bowland Stone, named after Wyevale on King Acre Road, Hereford where the business operated.
From GLEE 2004 the concession model was offered to all garden centres and the charts below show when some of the brands we have helped became part of our portfolio.
The Great Conservatory at Syon Park, designed by Charles Fowler and built in 1826, was a centrepiece of the National Gardening Exhibition in 1968
