Tesco in £155m Dobbies bid
Tesco is set to make a move into gardening – by taking over Dobbies. Tesco today unveiled a surprise £155.6 million offer for the garden centre chain.
Dobbies owns several sites in the region, including Gailey near Wolverhampton.
The move is seen as another attempt by Tesco to increase its retail power, having already expanded into corner shops, petrol stations, insurance and clothing.
The supermarket giant said the proposed deal was an important part of its strategy to provide customers with greater access to "affordable energy saving and environmental products".
But Tesco, already one of Britain's biggest land owners, has also been attracted by the fact that Dobbies owns the land on which its 21 stores are based, estimated to be worth £240 million.
Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said today: "For many people gardening is the way they express their desire to be green.
"By offering products such as water butts, composting kits and organic fertilisers, garden centres can meet this increasing de-mand."
Dobbies is one of the UK's leading garden centre retailers with 21 stores.
