Westland Horticulture: County Tyrone garden products firm buys William Sinclair brand

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Firth Road site
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William Sinclair Horticulture was founded in 1850 and is based in Lincoln, England

Westland Horticulture, the County Tyrone gardening products firm, has taken over an English firm in a multi-million pound deal.

It has bought William Sinclair out of administration, taking control of its manufacturing assets and brands.

Sinclairs, which had a turnover of around £40m, experienced severe cash flow difficulties after building a new manufacturing plant in Ellesmere Port.

Westland's boss said "Sinclairs is fundamentally a good business."

UK expansion

Edward Conroy, managing director of the Dungannon company, added: "Our focus is to work together with all customers in the professional and consumer sectors to make the transition simple and clear to all involved."

He said the deal would further expand Westland's presence in the UK market and complement its existing business.

Westland has grown to be one of the leading horticultural firms in the UK with an annual turnover of almost £110m and more than 400m staff.

The company last month announced plans to create 70 new jobs as part of a £9.6m investment in a new fertilizer plant in County Tyrone.

The Sinclairs deal was funded by Danske Bank which described it as "one of the most significant acquisitions so far this year by a Northern Ireland company".