The brothers behind a popular Moray garden centre have sold it on after nearly 30 years.
Scott and Grant Higgins opened Threaplands Garden Centre, near Elgin, in 1995.
They build it on land purchased by their grandfather, James Milne, in the 1950s for a pig farm.
The duo put all their effort into creating a garden centre which would draw in customers travelling along the A96 Elgin to Aberdeen road.
They worked alongside their landscaping supervisor, Ben Laing, who eventually took the reigns to project manage a new garden centre building.
His hard work and dedication showed when he roped in family members to help at weekends and would encourage contractors to help bring the vision to life.
The centre opened in 2018, but the work was far from done as the premises expanded with a new restaurant, a new dog-friendly covered area, and a new play area.
‘The end of an era’ at Threaplands
It was then that Mr Laing decided to invest in the centre, and has now taken over the business along with his father Neil, wife Julie and daughter Olivia.
Mr Laing said: “In 2018 the Laing family invested in the company when the new garden centre was being built.
“Since that initial step, I became a director and my father has become an integral part of the business.
“Our involvement has grown to a level that when Scott Higgins retired in 2022, and Grant Higgin’s focus being on the landscaping business, it was the natural step for us to take over the garden centre.”
Scott wanted to spend more time with his four grandchildren as well as travel across the country with his wife Linda in their motorhome.
Grant has taken over the landscaping arm of the business and operates at an adjacent site to Threaplands.
Mr Laing described the departure of the founding brothers as “the end of an era” while the brother wished the Laing family “every success for the future”.
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