Growth in profit for Inverness garden centre firm
PRE-tax profit almost quadrupled for an Inverness garden centre operator in its most recent financial year.
Simpson Highview – which runs Simpsons Garden Centre and a caravan site – also experienced a rise in turnover of nearly £500,000 for the year ended January 7, 2018, compared to the previous 12 months.
A strategic report accompanying the business’s accounts stated: “The director is satisfied with the company’s results for the year and the ongoing development of the site.
“The garden centre has continued to develop into a year-round destination with the plant offering remaining the core focus.
“The caravan park had a strong trading year with turnover up £66,000. This was attributed to continued investment in the site, the strength of the North Coast 500 initiative and the introduction of motorhome hire.”
Pre-tax profit increased from £86,003 in 2016/17 to £343,885 in 2017/18.
For the same period, turnover moved to £5,409,937 from £4,950,846.
Of this, turnover at the garden centre increased from £4,813,460 to £5,206,312 while caravan park revenue went from £137,386 to £203,625.
The report added: “The garden centre continues to re-invest in the site and detailed plans are in place to commence development work on site which will continue to provide and enhance the customer experience.”
The average number of employees slipped from 108 to 107 and staff costs dropped from £1,457,616 to £1,428,884.
Last year, Simpsons was named Scotland’s destination garden centre of the year by the UK Garden Centre Association (GCA) and picked up a range of other titles.
