Blooms of Bressingham has agreed to a £30.2m takeover by the investment vehicle of Scottish tycoon Tom Hunter, West Coast Capital Ltd. 

Sir Hunter has upped the bid from the original 85p a share to 86.5p, securing the irrevocable acceptances of 37.6% of Blooms. It is predicted as unlikely that any other bidder will come forward at this stage, and Blooms shares were today unchanged at 86p, indicating that it is assumed the bid will go through.

Hunter, voted the richest man in Scotland 2006, has now become the UK’s biggest garden centre owner, having acquired market leader Wyevale Garden centres last year and with a 8% share of Blooms rivals Dobbies. It is thought that he plans to establish the country’s biggest online gardening presence. 

Blooms was established in 1946 by Alan Bloom, who bought 500 acre Bressingham Hall in Norfolk to set up a nursery, which became the largest of its kind in Europe by the 1960s with a healthy wholesale and retail mail order business.

Chairman Charles good stated that “the garden centre sector is going through a period of accelerating change where there are clear benefits from joining forces. 

The board has given careful consideration to WCC Floris’ cash offer and believes it represents a good opportunity for the Blooms business.”

Director of WCC Floris and Partner in West Coast Capital Paul Davidson commented “We indicated at the time of the acquisition of Wyevale the consortium’s strategy to invest and grow Wyevale’s garden centre business. 

Blooms is a particularly attractive business in the sector and there are obvious cost and revenue synergies with the Wyevale business.”