Double success for Bents garden & home

2023 has got off to a great start for Bents Garden & Home. It was recently declared the winner of the GCA’s Destination Garden Centre of the Year 2023 award, a title which recognises Bents as being the best large garden centre in the UK. This award was quickly followed by reaching the finals for Best Retailer & E-Tailer category of the North West Family Business Awards 2023.

The first of these achievements was presented to Bents by the Garden Centre Association (GCA) at an award ceremony held in Blackburn and is the seventh time the family owned and run business has held the prestigious award, which recognises quality standards throughout the Centre, not only of products and departments, but also people and services.  

Matthew Bent, MD of Bents Garden & Home said: “There are many awards available within our industry, but this really is the big one. It is not one that requires a written submission or entry fee; instead the audit is something that is a fundamental requirement of our membership of the GCA.  

“We have a great family of colleagues who work extremely hard at all times and this award is a fantastic way to recognise and acknowledge all their input, especially after what have been a challenging few years.”

Amongst the categories to be acknowledged by the audit were the Centre’s product range and quality, disabled facilities, sustainability, Garden Care department, Fresh Approach Restaurant, houseplants and seasonal plants  The award also saw Bents acknowledged as a Garden Centre of Excellence, one of only 10 in the country.

In the second of these achievements, Bents beat strong competition with a record number of family businesses entering the awards from across the North West region.

As Co-founder and Director of the North West Family Business Awards, Sue Howorth said: “We were inundated with some incredible entries, and we have been burning the midnight oil to get through them as they came in right up to the wire. The judges had extremely difficult decisions to make so the finalists should be extremely proud of themselves!” 

“The whole philosophy of our business is of family and people feeling part of something special,” said Matthew. “To be recognised as a finalist in these awards is a fantastic recognition for all of our colleagues. We’re looking forward to meeting fellow family business finalists on 19th May and will be keeping our fingers crossed!”

The winners will be announced on  Friday 19 May 2023 at the event to be held at The Concorde Conference Centre, near Manchester Airport, co-hosted by Dave Clarkson and Sue Howorth of The Family Business Community, alongside renowned food and drink writer, and presenter Nigel Barden.