Our 2014 conference will be held at…

We are delighted to reveal that our 2014 conference will be held from January 26 until 29 at the Hilton Blackpool Hotel, which is located on the North Promenade Sea Front.

Fifteen people guessed the correct venue and will receive a bottle of champagne in their room at the conference.

For further information, please click here.

Come and see us at GLEE

We will be hosting a stand at GLEE and we are hoping to see lots of our members there. We’d also love to meet anyone interested in finding out more about the GCA.

GLEE takes place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham from Sunday, September 15 until Tuesday, September 17. 

For further information, please click here. 

Furniture and BBQs fly out of our members’ doors

People continued to make the most of the sunshine by improving their outdoor living spaces in July (2013) according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results for the month.

Barbecues and furniture sales were up 72.75% for the month as compared to July 2012. The category now stands at 12.22% up for the year to date.

For further information, please click here.  

Our guess the venue competition continues

We have released the second clue in our competition to guess the venue for our next annual conference (January 26 until 29, 2014).

Our 2014 conference will be held at a new location and we are asking people to guess where.

For further information, please click here.  

What are your thoughts on peat?

Our members recently attended a meeting to discuss the future of peat. It took place at William Sinclair in Ellesmere Port and included a tour of the manufacturing facility and a chance for members to discuss the use of peat.

Our Chairman, Peter Burks explained: “It was great for our members to have the chance to meet up and have a discussion about peat and peat alternatives.”

For further information, please click here.  

First clue released for guess the venue competition

We have revealed the first clue in our competition to guess the venue for our next annual conference (January 26 until 29, 2014).

The event has been held at the Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park for the past three years but the 2014 conference will be at a new location.

For further information, please click here.  

Westland rising stars battle it out to win the title

Our four Westland Rising Stars finalists have recently (May, 2013) successfully completed their second workshop as part of the competition.

George Bishop, Will Michieli, Charlotte Prentice and Matthew Schindler experienced a guided tour of the Westland Packaging Unit at Alconbury in Cambridgeshire and visited Notcutts Peterborough Garden Centre. 

For further information, please click here.