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Speke and Southport update as UK retailer shuts another store

Dobbie has shut a number of its sites in the last few years

[The number of Dobbies Garden Centres will reduce to 60]

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The number of Dobbies Garden Centres has reduced over the last few years(Image: Ayrshire Post)

A UK garden centre retailer is set to close another of its stores. However, Dobbies customers in Merseyside have been reassured its two local sites will remain open.

Dobbies Garden Centres confirmed its large superstore at The Junction Retail and Leisure Park in Antrim, Northern Ireland, will close at the end of October 2026, with around 120 full- and part-time staff affected. The closure comes after Dobbies went through a major restructuring programme in 2024 and 2025.

In 2024, the retailer announced plans to close 17 stores, 11 larger garden centres and six Little Dobbies outlets, affecting 465 employees. The restructuring was intended to tackle historically uneconomical rent costs and return the business to sustainable profitability. A further eight Dobbies stores closed during 2025 as part of the wider restructuring programme.

However, the closure of the Antrim store is separate from those earlier restructuring closures. Dobbies said it is shutting the site following a decision by its new landlord, Frasers Group, to redevelop The Junction for new retail and leisure uses.

[Dobbies in Speke]

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Dobbies in Speke(Image: Christopher Megrath)

The Antrim store opened in 2023 following a 10m investment and had become an established part of The Junction's retail offering. Dobbies said it was proud of what had been achieved at the store and thanked customers and the local community for their support.

The closure will come just three years after the store opened and will be another blow for Dobbies, which has already closed 24 locations as part of its recent restructuring.

For Dobbies customers across Liverpool and the wider Merseyside region, however, there is no need to worry about a local closure.

The ECHO can confirm that Dobbies' two Merseyside stores in Speke and Southport are set to remain open and are unaffected by the latest round of closures.

The Speke store, which serves customers across Liverpool and surrounding areas, will therefore continue trading alongside the Southport site despite the latest changes to Dobbies' wider store estate.

Dobbies garden centres that closed in 2025

As part of its restructuring programme, Dobbies closed the following garden centres during 2025:

• Rugby closed on January 19
• Morpeth (Heighley Gate) closed on January 19, with some parts of the site later acquired by other operators
• Stapleton closed on January 19
• Havant closed on January 19
• Hare Hatch closed on January 31
• Leicester (Rothley/Rowena) closed on February 14
• Aylesbury (Worlds End) closed on February 28
• Northampton closed on March 2, before the site was immediately acquired by British Garden Centres

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