DOBBIES – the garden centre chain with a branch in Shepton Mallet – has announced the closure of 17 stores.

The move comes as the firm looks to cut costs, with “unprofitable” locations closing as it aims to “address historically uneconomical rent costs”.

More than 450 jobs are understood to be at risk.

The closures would be made up of 11 garden centres – including the chain’s flagship store in Northern Ireland – as well as six Little Dobbies stores.

The Shepton Mallet branch is not on the list of stores set to close, though the company said the move would affect 465 out around 3,600 employees.

It means Dobbies would be left with around 60 garden centres across the UK, with nine sites also earmarked for negotiations to lower rent costs to address the financial situation, the company said.

Earmarked to close by the end of the year, the firm said all stores will continue to operate as usual, with no impact on suppliers.

Dobbies stores set to close are:
Altrincham
Antrim
Gloucester
Gosforth
Harlestone Heath
Huntingdon
Inverness
King’s Lynn
Pennine
Reading
Stratford-upon-Avon

Little Dobbies outlets closing down are:
Cheltenham
Chiswick
Clifton
Richmond
Stockbridge
Westbourne Grove

Dobbies was founded by James Dobbie in 1865 as seed company Dobbie & Co in Renfrew, Scotland.

The chain went on to become the UK’s largest garden centre operator before it was bought by Tesco in 2007 for more than £150 million.

In 2016, it was sold to a group of investors led by Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital, for £217m.

Last year, it opened its largest store, at Antrim, Northern Ireland, at an estimated cost of £10m – but the store is now set to shut.