Suppliers

Associate Members

We welcome applications to join the Garden Centre Associations from any supplier offering products or services relevant to our garden centre members. The GCA offers the opportunity to communicate and network with almost 200 of the UK’s leading garden centres.

For Associate Members, being part of the GCA is an assurance to garden centre members that they will be dealing with suppliers already trading with other members and through our members exchanging ideas, recommendations for member suppliers will often be forthcoming to other centres within the GCA.

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Supplier Benefits

GCA Conference

Associate members attend as delegates (as many people from within your organisation as you wish). The GCA Annual Conference attracts 300+ delegates and is an opportunity to meet with the owners and senior management of member centres and related businesses, over a 2-3 day period.

The delegates are decision makers for their respective businesses and the conference provides an excellent opportunity to make new contacts in an informal setting and to promote your business at a dedicated supplier event. The quality and range of speakers means that they are relevant to most, if not all businesses.

A dedicated ‘exhibition’ event is held at the conference, enabling you to showcase your products and services. There are a number of sponsorship opportunities available too.

Publications

Copies of all publications produced by the GCA are distributed to all member businesses.

Free listing in the GCA Directory of Members with the opportunity to advertise. The publication is produced annually and is a ‘bible’ for many members and extensively used throughout the year
A free listing in The Garden Centre Yearbook, which is distributed to 1,000 companies within the industry.
Opportunity to advertise in the Best of British Garden Centres Magazine published every January to coincide with the Conference. Free advert for Associate members that attend the conference.
Free listing on GCA website, with search facility for members
Discounted annual subscription rate to “Horticulture Week”

Mail Shots / Member Contact List

Your promotional flyers can be emailed out to garden centre members free of charge, up to four times per year

Barometer of Trade Report

Free access, with your login, to the Monthly Barometer of Trade Summary Report is available via the GCA website. The statistics are some of the most up to date available and are produced from sales data by value, in categories, from garden centre members each month

Sales for current month by category plus corresponding data for previous year and YTD
Monthly sales turnover
Turnover by size of garden centre

Annual Award

Opportunity to be nominated by your GCA customers for the ‘GCA Associate Member of the Year’ Award

Forum of Private Business

FORUM OF PRIVATE BUSINESS (FPB)

Founded in 1977 and representing around 25,000 UK-based private businesses. The FPB fights for fair treatment of private businesses and provides support to enable its members to grow profitably.

As a GCA member you receive a 25% discount on full FPB membership. FPB would be on hand to help you join, which would include how to work out holiday entitlement, signpost to a resource like business debt line or gov.uk and supply a template on how to manage your fire risk assessment etc.

Applying for Associate Membership

Applications are welcome from any company that has at least 12 months trading history with a minimum of 1 GCA member and 1 company you currently work with. Applicants should provide the contact details for two references, we can approach.

The application can be completed online or a form can be downloaded and then sent by email or post to the GCA Office. Your application will be placed before the Executive Committee, for approval, at the next scheduled meeting.

Information Pack Apply Online Download PDF Form

What does it cost?

There is an annual membership fee due by January 31^st each year.

For your initial application this will be £1200 plus a one off joining fee of £100 but will fall to the agreed rate for existing members from year 2 onwards, currently £1000 per annum.

Full Years fee applicable if joining before June or after October.

Half years fee applicable if joining June-September.

Applications received before and approved at:-

March Executive Committee meeting – full year’s fee (current year)
June Executive Committee meeting – half year’s fee (current year)
September Executive Committee meeting – half year’s fee (current year)
November Executive Committee meeting – full year’s fee (following year)

Associate Membership Fees 2026

	Full Year	Half Year
One off Joining Fee	£100.00	£100.00
New Members Year 1 Fee	£1200.00	£600.00
Total	£1300.00	£700.00

Current Members 2027 fee £1000

Terms and Conditions

Once you have become a member, each subsequent year of membership runs from 1st January to 31st December.

The membership fee for each calendar year is determined, annually, at the Association’s AGM in January.

The initial membership fee must be paid prior to approval of the application by the Executive Committee. Once approved, all invoices issued to members, whether for future annual memberships or other services provided, are due within 30 days of the date of invoice. Invoices relating to conference/event attendance are due prior to the start of the event.

The above fees do not include VAT, which will be applied at the current rate

If at any time in the future you wish to resign your membership, this must be done in writing to the Chief Executive by 30th November in the year prior to renewal, otherwise the following year’s subscription, at the rate set at the AGM, will become due and your membership will continue for a further year.

The £100.00 joining fee is waived, as an additional benefit, for GIMA members. All other terms and conditions apply.

By joining the Garden Centre Association, you agree to the terms and conditions and any variation in the future, as published on our website.

Withdrawal of GCA logo and display materials

Upon cessation of membership for any reason, the company or organisation concerned will no longer use the name or logo of the Association or make mention any of its initiatives, products or services in any form whether electronic or physical (This includes, for example, stationery, advertisements, emails, websites, social media) or for any other purpose. Access to all member benefits will be withdrawn (This includes, for example, the Barometer of Trade, Conference attendance).