You’ve highlighted the way family business can create stable leadership, what other benefits are there for the business? A business that is run by a family means that everyone in the family understands the importance of putting money back into the business. At the end of the year money is reinvested into the growth of the business. The other advantage when you play the long game with successive generations of the same family is that you are all aware of the need to keep the business moving forward. We recently had the opportunity to buy one of the former Wyevale Garden Centres in Sudbury. Having completed the purchase we were able to take over the 35-acre site in September 2018, and we’ve spent the last few months getting it ready for the Summer season.
My parent’s decision in 2000 to open a coffee shop was definitely the right one, and it has become a key part of the business. Initially it had 60 covers, but can now seat more than 240 customers. All the food is homemade, and it has undoubtedly helped to make the garden centre a destination for people wanting to spend more time here. You’ve talked about the way things have changed - what has stayed the same? Change and diversification in our business has been led by customer demand, but the one thing that has stayed constant for everyone at Perrywood is the desire to get plants into people’s lives. Our business was founded on growing and selling high quality plants, and that remains the same today. The other constant is the leadership through three generations of the same family. The third generation of Bournes has now entered the business: I came back in a freelance capacity about nine years ago after working in PR and marketing before coming back permanently. My two brothers, Simon and Tristan, both worked as engineers before they came back ten years and two years ago respectively. The great advantage of having worked in other fields is that we have all brought different knowledge and ideas to the business, which has definitely helped it to grow. We have always had an amazing team who buy into our vision and help us bring it to life. It’s just a bit bigger now than it used to be!
Scrutton Bland regularly work with family businesses throughout the region, supporting management teams in all aspects of their business operations, from succession planning to insurance, taxation and shareholder issues. Contact Sue Gull on 0330 058 6559 or email sue.gull@scruttonbland.co.uk
Perrywood Garden Centre and Nurseries Ltd www.perrywood.co.uk
Photographs by GAP photo
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