Hathern Nurseries breaks record in lockdown

Simon Ellis says "compost is the new toilet roll".

The owner of Hathern Nurseries, who's been in business for six years, cannot believe how things have turned around. 

At the end of March he thought his business may have to close. He told Fosse 107: "We did think we were basically going to go out of businesses, we've got like an eight week window to sell the stock."

They decided to offer free local delivery to the local community and have now gone from employing 4 staff to 42 staff. 

Simon said: "We came in to 16,000 emails the next morning to emails and enquiries. So we have had to transform the business and we're now at 41 staff. But the demand keeps going." 

Hathern Nurseries have been offering home deliveries and click and collect through the lockdown 

They've invested in new vans and installed new phone lines to cope with the demand.

Simon and his wife Madeleine are spending alot of time at their garden centre which is on Whatton Road in Hathern on the outskirts of Loughborough. He says he's really been struggling to keep up stocks because of demand.

"I've said it a few times now. Compost is the new toilet roll. You can't get it." 

The nurseries have reduced their opening hours to 11am to 4pm to allow them to completely water the site before opening. 

Listen to Mark Rowley's full interview with Simon from Hathern Nurseries here: