Swallows Nurseries & Gardens, Main Street Mixbury, Brackley, Oxfordshire, NN13 5RR

Christie & Co are delighted to bring to market Swallows Nurseries & Gardens, a well-established and beautifully presented garden centre in Mixbury, a North Oxfordshire village near Brackley, Oxfordshire.
Originally founded in 1989 as a wholesale nursery specialising in shrubs and perennials, the business has successfully evolved into a popular garden centre and visitor destination since opening to the public in 2022. The working nursery continues to grow a wide range of perennials, annuals, fruit trees, roses and shrubs, complemented by topiary, ornamental trees and tree ferns.
The site has developed into a thriving destination, featuring eight show gardens, a well-stocked plant centre and gardening shop, together with covered retail areas. Visitors can also experience the nursery's operations first-hand through its growing areas, poly-tunnels and potting facilities.
A key attraction is The Nordic Kitchen, a stylish café serving brunches, lunches, speciality coffee and Scandinavian-inspired cakes. Attractive outdoor seating and a cosy interior with a wood-burning stove help make the café a destination in its own right.
Significant recent investment has enhanced the overall offering, including extensive refurbishment, infrastructure upgrades and the sensitive renovation of two traditional barns, creating an attractive and highly regarded horticultural and leisure destination.

Located on the Northamptonshire/Oxfordshire border, the nursery occupies an accessible rural position approximately 200 metres from the A421 and close to the A43, providing excellent links to Buckingham, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Oxford, Silverstone and the M40 motorway.
The site lies adjacent to the village of Mixbury and just 3 miles west of Brackley, a rapidly expanding market town benefiting from significant new housing development. The area is also supported by the growth of the Silverstone engineering and technology cluster, which continues to attract investment, employment and affluent households.
The location benefits from a wide catchment including Brackley, Buckingham, Bicester, Towcester and numerous surrounding villages. Excellent road connectivity allows convenient access for both local customers and passing trade.
For a garden centre, the setting is particularly attractive, combining strong transport links with a growing and increasingly affluent customer base. The expanding residential population, together with the area's high levels of home ownership and rural character, supports demand for plants, gardening products, outdoor living goods and landscaping materials. The accessible roadside location also provides excellent potential for destination retailing, complemented by uses such as a café, farm shop or outdoor lifestyle offer.

The Nordic Kitchen
The Nordic Kitchen is a contemporary Scandinavian-style café featuring recycled timber finishes, full-height anthracite glazing overlooking the nursery, and an attractive American walnut coffee bar. The café offers seating for 40 covers indoors, including a cosy “Snugg” area, with scope for additional seating.
The business benefits from a TOAST ePOS system with integrated kitchen display, a popular customer loyalty scheme, and premium barista equipment. Coffee is supplied by a respected artisan roaster in Oxford. The Nordic Kitchen branding and trademark are available to a purchaser under licence.
Externally, an attractive terrace provides seating for approximately 30 customers across 11 tables, complemented by dedicated commercial refrigeration and freezer storage. The renovations also included the provision of disabled access toilets.

Kitchen & Supporting Amenities
The commercial kitchen occupies a recently converted 20ft shipping container and is fitted with fridges, oven, microwave and induction hobs. The café holds a 5-star food hygiene rating.
Supporting facilities include a dedicated pot wash room, grease trap systems, and a covered courtyard providing utility space, COSHH storage and an internal wood store, ensuring efficient day-to-day operations.

Retail Shop & Garden Supplies
The retail offering is centred within a recently refurbished former barn, comprehensively upgraded in January 2026 with a new roof, internal cladding, polished concrete flooring and insulation to create an attractive, dry and welcoming shopping environment.
The shop provides a complementary range of gardening products, including seeds, bulbs, fertilisers and horticultural sundries, alongside locally sourced artisan skincare products and a premium selection of Japanese garden tools and accessories. This diversified retail offer enhances customer spend and supports year-round trading.
A dedicated compost sales area allows customers to conveniently load directly into their vehicles, with the nursery stocking high-quality, peat-free compost supplied by Melcourt. Retail operations are supported by a straightforward and efficient Zettle point-of-sale system, well suited to the nursery's plant and ancillary product sales.

Plantaria
The plant sales area is centred around an attractive Plantaria, enhanced by display tables and decorative ironwork that create an appealing retail environment for customers. A feature Acer and Tree Fern Pergola provides a striking focal point, showcasing specimen plants and adding to the nursery’s destination appeal.
A recently constructed wide-span poly-covered area offers substantial undercover growing and retail space, suitable for annual plants and high-value topiary. Designed with future expansion in mind, the structure provides flexibility for business growth and enhanced year-round trading.
Additional retail amenities include a dedicated Stake Stand offering tree stakes and canes, complementing the nursery’s extensive plant and gardening product range.

The Nursery
The nursery is comprehensively equipped with five polytunnels and an additional specialist “spikey” tunnel, all in excellent condition and supported by overhead irrigation systems, Geka hose connections and extensive watering infrastructure throughout the site.
Customer-accessible perennial and shrub display beds are complemented by extensive tree and shrub lines, together with additional growing beds benefiting from overhead watering systems. Significant investment has been made in irrigation, with modern equipment and raised mini-spray systems installed throughout the nursery within the last three years.
Supporting infrastructure includes a well-equipped potting shed with a new floor, three-phase power supply and both indoor and outdoor potting benches. Multiple insulated and protected standpipes are strategically located across the site, providing efficient and reliable water access for nursery operations.

Show Gardens
The property benefits from a well-presented customer car park positioned along the eastern boundary, providing parking for approximately 28 vehicles on a combination of compacted road scalping and tarmac surfaces.
In addition, an overflow parking area located immediately to the east of the main site can accommodate a further 20 vehicles and is easily accessed from the principal entrance drive. Use of this area is available through an arrangement with the owner, in return for the maintenance of the boundary hedge, which is currently managed cost-effectively by a local contractor.
The overflow car park has also recently been offered for sale to the business, presenting a potential opportunity for a purchaser to secure additional land and long-term parking provision, subject to separate negotiation.

Workshop & Horticultural Storage
The workshop and horticultural storage facilities are housed within two modern one-trip shipping containers, providing secure and practical operational space for the business. The insulated workshop benefits from power and lighting throughout, while the adjoining storage container is vented and used for horticultural supplies and COSHH-compliant storage of fertilisers and related materials.
The containers are linked by a covered roofed area, creating additional sheltered storage space currently utilised for equipment, including a Gator vehicle, horticultural fleece and landscaping materials. External power points are also available, including facilities for charging electric vehicles.
Immediately adjacent to the facility is a dedicated staff car park providing space for up to four vehicles, ensuring convenient access for employees and day-to-day operations.

Parking
The property benefits from a well-presented customer car park positioned along the eastern boundary, providing parking for approximately 30 vehicles on a combination of compacted road scalping and tarmac surfaces.

Swallows Nurseries & Gardens presents a rare opportunity to acquire a well-established freehold garden centre, working nursery and destination café in an affluent and accessible location close to Brackley and Silverstone.
The business is likely to appeal to an established garden centre operator seeking expansion, a horticultural business looking to diversify into retail and hospitality, or an owner-operator seeking a lifestyle business with significant growth potential. The combination of a plant centre, working nursery, eight show gardens and the popular Nordic Kitchen café provides a strong and diverse income base.
There is considerable scope to grow revenues through the expansion of trade sales to garden designers, landscapers and commercial planting schemes, while the nursery's substantial unused production capacity offers the potential to increase wholesale plant sales to farm shops, local retailers and independent garden centres. Further opportunities exist to expand the retail offer, develop seasonal and Christmas trading, host horticultural courses and events, and extend the opening hours and seating capacity of the café.
Additional growth potential includes the development of garden design and consultancy services, the creation of specialist plant collections linked to the show's gardens, and the expansion of operational areas into currently underutilised land. There is also an opportunity to acquire additional land for parking.
Subject to the necessary consents, the site may offer scope for a residential dwelling associated with the business or as a standalone property. Given its strategic position close to Brackley's expanding residential catchment, longer-term development potential may also exist for part or all of the site.
The business is offered for sale due to the owners' genuine retirement plans, presenting an exceptional opportunity to acquire a unique horticultural destination with substantial future growth potential.

The business is run by the family with the assistance of a small team. Full details of the staff that will transfer under TUPE can be provided.

The business has seen sales increase considerably in recent years due to the development of the retail shop and café. Full trading information can be provided to serious potential buyers.

Monday - Closed
Tuesday – Sunday 10.00 – 16.00

The rateable value for the year beginning 1st April 2026 is £19,000.