Caledonia Investments (LSE:CLDN), the London-listed long-term investment trust, will invest approximately £60 million into Blue Diamond, the UK and Channel Islands' largest garden centre operator, to fund continued expansion through acquisitions and estate improvements.
Blue Diamond operates 54 garden centres and generated revenue of approximately £395 million and EBITDA of approximately £47 million for the year ended 31 December 2025, implying an EBITDA margin of roughly 12%.
Since chief executive Alan Roper took the helm in 2013, revenue and EBITDA have grown at compound annual rates of approximately 17% and 21% respectively, driven by acquisitions and operational investment across gardening, home and leisure, and food and hospitality.
"Blue Diamond is exactly the type of business with which we look to partner: a clear market leader with an outstanding management team delivering excellent cash generation," said Tom Leader, Head of Caledonia Private Capital.
The investment is consistent with Caledonia's private capital strategy of deploying £50 million to £150 million per transaction in market-leading private businesses on a minority or majority basis, with no stated intention to exit over a defined horizon.
Blue Diamond intends to pursue further accretive acquisitions in what it describes as a large and fragmented market, with Caledonia's capital providing the firepower to accelerate that consolidation.
