Demand for Christmas at garden centres seems higher than ever on the South coast. Haskins are expecting over 1m visitors, while Stewarts Garden Centres payment gateway and phones became swamped as 10,000 tried to book their visit to Santa. Read more - members only

It has been confirmed that LBS Worldwide Ltd is in administration. It is continuing to trade, managed by the administrators. Read more - members only

Bunnings has reported a 14% drop in sales for Homebase over the last quarter. But they remain encouraged by the performance of the Bunnings pilots. Read more - members only

Gardman reduces losses in its first full year following the buyout in June 2015 by Rutland Partners LLP and says it has significant finance to invest in new categories. Read more - members only

Carol Paris has joined Jackie Eades on the board of Briers, the UK’s leading garden glove and boot supplier, to guide it through its next phase of growth. Read more - members only

Coolings Nurseries says it has agreed to buy The Potted Garden Nursery, which is located very close to Leeds Castle in Kent. They take over on Nov 1^st. Read more - members only

Deco-Pak is to sever links with a discount retailer so that it can develop a more creative offer for specialist garden centres. Read more - members only

As Wyevale refinances, Roger Mclaughlan has spoken for the first time since becoming CEO about how he and his new management team are working to get the core business right. Further acquisitions are firmly on the back burner. Read more - members only

Terra Firma says switch to central distribution was too much for Wyevale Garden Centres, hitting stock availability and sales in 2016. Trading profit fell 31%. Read more - members only

Wyevale Garden Centres is predicting that this weekend will be the most popular for the sale of bulbs, when it expects to sell around 2,000 packets of bulbs an hour. Read more - members only

Westland looks to raise its brand profile as the gardener’s champion after research shows there’s an opportunity to build consumer recognition. Read more - members only

The Stihl Group expects demand for Lithium-Ion products to grow exponentially and is to test the selling of cordless products through garden centres. The first pilot is with Dobbies. Read more - members only

The Gardman sales team visited the almost completed 415,000 sq ft. National Distribution Centre last week to be briefed on Glee and the 2018 growth plans. Read more - members only

Garden centre sales in 2016 were level, with profit increasing slightly at the Barton Grange Group as construction of the Flower Bowl has started for opening in 2018. Read more - members only

Planning officials have recommended that plans for a new garden centre on the outskirts of Honiton are approved. Which means it could be trading by next spring. Read more - members only

Downtown Garden Centre near Grantham, part of the Oldrid Group, has submitted plans for an outlet village with 107 retail outlets and a new garden centre. Read more - members only

Stax is to offer distribution to manufacturers following the acquisition of PDS Logistics last week. The deal will increase flexibility and improve availability as Stax takes control of its supply chain. Read more - members only

Melmar Stone has announced that it has taken on the range of hand cast resin statues that used to be sold by DaVinci Home and Garden Products. Read more - members only

Brexit fears have increased demand for UK grown plants leading Allensmore to add a further 9 acres of outdoor production. Read more - members only

Scotts Miracle-Gro called on the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) to find that two adverts for Safelawn by Westland were misleading. Their complaint was not upheld. Read more - members only

One of Ireland’s foremost growers of nursery stock, Flannery’s Nurseries, is looking to develop its market by expanding into the UK with Bob Haward as their agent. Read more - members only

Following a reduced peat harvest, which Westland admits will have a cost impact, the company calls on the growing media industry not to take short cuts by using materials like green waste. Read more - members only

Wyevale accounts for 2016 show a net loss of £122m after a one-off charge for non-recurring items of £73.6m.  This gives a new starting position for Wyevale, which has raised £216.5m in new finance to replace exisiting facilities that would have expired in 2018. Read more - members only

Colemans Garden Centre in Templepatrick, N. Ireland is nearing the completion of phase 1 of a £5m redevelopment and expansion. Read more - members only

Press reports suggest Terra Firma is about to announce new long-term refinancing for Wyevale Garden Centres. Read more - members only

The Scotts Company (UK) reveals more about the buy-out from the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. Investment in innovation backed by TV advertising is the way forward. Read more - members only

Notcutts lifts sales and profit after 5 garden centres are modernised as part of their 5-year plan. A new leadership team has been recruited. Read more - members only

National wholesaler, Decco, has signed an exclusive partnership with Briers, while Stax has secured a deal with E. P. Barrus to distribute their brands including the newly acquired Town & Country. Read more - members only

The Mayor of Peterborough joined Paris Natar and the Smart Garden team to celebrate the opening of a massive new distribution hub that should see turnover grow to £100m. Read more - members only

SBM Company, which bought Bayer Garden last year, has announced a partnership agreement with Italy-based Valagro to sell and market its garden brands in Europe and the US.  For the UK these include MaxiCrop. Read more - members only