he Pot Place Garden Centre is up for sale as its owners have decided to retire.
The centre, at Plumpton, near Penrith, was set up over 20 years ago by Paul Thomas and Kevin Roper.
On the site of a former railway station, the family-run business is extremely popular and features a garden centre, tea room, furniture centre and gift shop.
Paul and Kevin now want to retire to spend more time on their charity work.
Staff at an Eden garden business have hit a £60,000 fundraising milestone for Ukrainian humanitarian aid, partly inspired by their much-loved Ukrainian co-worker, who has been embraced by the local community.
The team at the Pot Place Garden Centre, Plumpton, led by owner Paul Thomas has been raising funds for Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale military invasion of the country in 2022.
Initially donations of clothes, blankets and other essential items were received at the centre, but efforts quickly doubled into bigger fundraising projects, resulting in the transportation of emergency vehicles, medical supplies and equipment.
While the team have hit a £60,000 fundraising total to date, they are showing no sign of slowing down their activities to help civilians in the war-impacted country.
Paul said: “From our humble beginnings as a pot and planter centre, we’re very proud of the garden centre business that we’ve been able to build over the past 20 years, with the support of our wonderful team of staff.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed our time developing the business so the decision to sell has not been as easy one to make, however the time has come for us to take a step back and look to retire.
“Having put our heart and soul into The Pot Place, we are looking for an enthusiastic new owner who is willing to invest in the business to take it forward and look after our fantastic staff who have been instrumental in our success.
“We will wait for the right buyer and our many loyal customers should be reassured that it will be business as usual during the transition to new ownership.”
It is on the market with Christie & Co and will be sold by way of a share sale for 100% shares of the limited company.
Andrew Birnie, director in Christie & Co’s Retail & Garden Centre team, who is managing the sales process, said: “We’re very pleased to be instructed to market this attractive garden centre and specialist pots and planters’ business on behalf of Paul and Kevin.
“The Pot Place attracts customers from across Cumbria and beyond due to its range of specialist products, including the garden building business which serves as a strong income driver.
“This is a special place to work, and I can’t think of many places that would be better to spend your working life, running a profitable business in the beautiful countryside, so close to the M6 for access and only a short drive to the Lakes.
“We look forward to finding the right buyer to take the business forward, building on the wonderful work of Paul, Kevin and their team.”
