Tesco sells off garden centre chain Dobbies for £217m
Tesco has sold its garden centre chain Dobbies to a private investment group for £217m as part of a slimming down of the business to focus on its core assets.
Dobbies
The buyers include Midlothian Capital Partners, a private investment group, and Hattington Capital, a London-based investor.
It was thought financier Guy Hands would buy the business to merge Wyevale Garden Centres with Dobbies.
Dave Lewis, Tesco’s chief executive, said: “We believe this agreement will give Dobbies a bright future, while allowing our UK retail business to focus on its core strengths.”
Tesco acquired the chain of garden centres in 2007 for £155m, when Sir Terry Leahy ran the business. It marked the retailer's first non-food acquisition.
The sale of the 35-strong nursery chain comes weeks after Tesco sold its Giraffe restaurant chain and Kipa, a Turkish retailer, as part of the group’s efforts to streamline the business.
In April Tesco sold an 8.6 per cent stake in its Asian ecommerce group Lazada to Alibaba, and last year it sold its South Korean business for £4bn.
It has been speculated Tesco’s chief executive is also considering a sale of its coffee shop chain Harris & Hoole, as well as its Euphorium bakery brand.