An eco-friendly business that started in a cow shed has moved into a new 7,500 sq ft industrial unit after hitting a turnover of over £1m.
Garden Village designs and manufactures wheelie bin storage units. At our new home in Altham, near Accrington, Lancashire, we have grown from manufacturing just one product to over 100 products.
Trained horticulturist Caroline Donnellan, 37, used to run a gardening and landscape design business, but ill health forced her to reduce her active work and focus on this new opportunity. .
What started as a side hustle quickly grew, but sales really took off during the pandemic as people started investing more in their outdoor spaces.
Caroline said: “We had been asked many times to build a storage unit for our bins, so we decided to literally rent a barn from a local farm and try building one ourselves.
“When we did our research, there wasn't anything similar on the market, so we knew there was a gap in the market, but we never imagined it would become this popular.”
Furthermore, she added: “I think especially during the coronavirus pandemic, people were spending all this money to make their gardens look beautiful, and yet they still had to look at ugly bins, and they wanted a solution to that.
“All of our products are made by skilled craftsmen using local, sustainable, pressure-treated wood, so they are responsibly sourced and built to last as well as look good.” I am.”
Garden Village currently employs a team of 10 people and manufactures more than 20 units per day, including bins of various sizes, garden storage, bicycles, logs, parcels and even an outdoor bar . The latter won the Gold Award in the Outdoor Leisure category at last year's prestigious Garden Industry Manufacturer Awards.
The transaction for the new manufacturing site was overseen by law firm Jackson Leeds, whose corporate and commercial team has been working with Garden Village for several years, including the recent share acquisition to make director Caroline the sole shareholder. Advised on all important matters.
In addition to negotiating leases and handling stock acquisitions, Jackson Leeds has also recently prepared terms and agreements for a new range of products for the commercial bin storage market.
