A Cheshire-based distribution specialist has announced that it is ready to listen to offers for its garden centre business in a bid to reduce its growing debt.

NWF has appointed KPMG to find a buyer for the £20 million turnover business, which made a £300,000 operating loss in the year to June 2008.

Figures released by the group show its debt standing at £52.1 million, up from £40 million 12 months ago.

The target business has 500 employees at sites in Cheshire, Widnes, Yorkshire and two centres in Nottinghamshire.

Chairman Mark Hudson said that in spite of several challenges NWF made good progress in the second half of the financial year, after a disappointing first six months. “We also made the decision during the year to focus the group as a specialist distributor and sell our garden centre division.”

When a buyer is found for the garden centre operation, NWF will be a supplier of fuels and animal feeds as well as a distributor of groceries to supermarkets.

NWF’s turnover, excluding the garden centres, jumped 20.8 per cent last year, from £298.9 million to £361.2 million, but pre-tax profits fell to £4.2 million from £5.8 million.