Hortus Loci

What Hortus Loci does

Hortus Loci Ltd is a privately held, founder-owned UK wholesale plant nursery founded in 2011 by third-generation nurserymen Mark Straver (CEO) and Robin Wallis (Sales Director). The business operates from a 17-acre purpose-built site in North Hampshire (Hound Green, Hook, RG27 8LQ), positioned between the M3 and M4 motorways for UK-wide distribution. Its core offering is wholesale plant supply to landscape architects, garden designers, and landscapers, anchored by a customer base that includes the top 30 European landscape architects and a depth of 4,000+ perennial, shrub, tree, topiary and hedging varieties.

The company grows approximately 80% of plants on-site using six custom compost formulations and extends container cycles beyond the industry-standard two-litre pot to three-litre containers or tall long-toms for deeper-rooting species, reducing transplant stress. Production is supported by a Growmaster stock control programme tracking plant batches, movements, potting records, and spray records, alongside a manual plant passport system that delivers full traceability from seed or source to sale. The nursery goes beyond statutory compliance with 20-30 plant health inspections per year versus a legal minimum of two, and operates a voluntary Xylella-free sourcing policy aligned with DEFRA good practice.

Commercially, Hortus Loci runs a dual-channel model: a wholesale division with trade accounts requiring a minimum order of £5,000 + VAT, 50% deposits on order confirmation, and 30-day validity quotes; and The Plant Centre, a wholly-owned retail subsidiary open seven days a week to the general public. Adjacent revenue streams include Hortus Loci Landscapes (full design, planting and maintenance service led by Suzanne Thurston) and a specialist plant sourcing service leveraging the founders' UK and European networks. Go-to-market relies on direct trade relationships, an extensive show-garden footprint at RHS Chelsea and other cultural events, and earned credibility through gold medal and best-in-show project outcomes. The business is bootstrapped with no external funding rounds disclosed.

Name

Hortus Loci

Legal name

Hortus Loci Ltd

Website

https://hortusloci.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hortus Loci is a UK wholesale plant nursery founded in 2011, growing around 80% of plants on-site across 4,000+ varieties on its 17-acre Hampshire site and supplying trade customers including the top 30 European landscape architects, while also serving the public through its retail subsidiary The Plant Centre.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Plant Nursery and Horticultural Supply

NAICS

Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture Production (1114), Landscaping Services (56173), Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Plant & Nursery Stock Wholesalers (Grower-Wholesalers) (AFAGAHAM)

Keywords

• Wholesale plant nursery
• Landscape plant supply
• Garden design plants
• Plant sourcing services
• Horticulture wholesale

Headquarters

HQ city

Hook

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Plant Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling plants at wholesale prices to landscape architects, garden designers, and landscapers. Orders require 50% deposit on confirmation with balance due upon receipt of invoice. Minimum order value of £5,000 + VAT for trade accounts.
2. Retail Plant Centre Sales: The Plant Centre at Hortus Loci serves the general public with access to over 4,000 plant varieties. Open 7 days a week with competitive pricing.
3. Landscaping Services: Hortus Loci Landscapes offers full landscaping service from initial ideas through to landscaping, planting and garden maintenance. Contact Suzanne Thurston for consultations.
4. Plant Sourcing Services: Specialist plant sourcing service leveraging extensive UK and European contacts to find rare and unusual plant varieties for clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hortus Loci is a wholesale plant nursery operating from a 17-acre site in North Hampshire that grows and supplies over 4,000 varieties of perennials, shrubs, trees, topiary, and hedging to landscape architects, garden designers, and landscapers. The company also operates a retail arm (The Plant Centre) open seven days a week to the general public and a full-service landscaping division (Hortus Loci Landscapes) handling design, planting, and maintenance projects including large mature tree installations.

Product overview

Hortus Loci operates as a wholesale plant nursery platform comprising multiple integrated offerings: the core wholesale nursery service (Hortus Loci Wholesale Nursery) supplying professional landscapers and designers with plants grown on their 17-acre Hampshire site; a retail sub-brand (The Plant Centre) serving the general public; an installation and landscaping service (Hortus Loci Landscapes) for project delivery; show garden plant supply services; and plant health compliance services. The portfolio centers on providing over 4,000 varieties of perennials, shrubs, trees, hedging, and topiary with full traceability and delivery logistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hortus Loci Wholesale Nursery Wholesale plant nursery supplying landscape architects, garden designers and landscapers with perennials, shrubs, trees, topiary and hedging from a 17-acre site in North Hampshire, specialising in rare and unusual varieties and on-site propagation using six custom compost formulations.
• The Plant Centre (Retail Arm) Retail plant centre on the Hortus Loci Hampshire site offering the same 4,000+ plant varieties to the general public seven days a week, with expert staff on hand and competitive pricing; non-VAT-registered designers can access the Garden Designer Discount Card for 20% off retail.
• Hortus Loci Landscapes Full-service landscaping offering handling projects from initial ideas through landscaping, planting and ongoing garden maintenance, with particular specialism in planting large trees including mature specimens up to 12 metres high.
• Specialist Plant Sourcing Service Sourcing service that uses the founders' UK and European horticultural contacts to find rare and unusual plant varieties that are not part of standard nursery stock, enabling landscape architects and garden designers to fulfil complex plant schedules.

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides hundreds of thousands of plants for hundreds of show gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UK Biosecurity AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHortus Loci founders Mark Straver and Robin Wallis sit on the UK Biosecurity Alliance. This partnership positions the company at the forefront of plant health policy development and industry best practices.
• RHS (Royal Horticultural Society)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany participates in multiple RHS shows including Chelsea Flower Show. Robin Wallis sits on the RHS Herbaceous Committee. Hortus Loci works closely with RHS on show requirements and regulations for growing.
• HTA (Horticultural Trades Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHortus Loci has signed the voluntary HTA Statement on Xylella. The company maintains close working relationship with HTA for plant health policy and industry standards.
• DEFRA and APHAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHortus Loci works closely with DEFRA and APHA on plant health policy and legislation. Company meets with policy setters at their site to understand current and future requirements. Notifications for certain plant imports submitted through eDomero portal.
• Hobo Co (On-site Cafe)minorOthersOn-site cafe operated by Hobo Co provides refreshments for visiting customers. Referenced by Tom Massey as an added bonus to visits.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Barcham Trees: UK wholesale tree nursery based in Cambridgeshire supplying landscape architects, designers and developers with container-grown specimen trees. Directly comparable to Hortus Loci's wholesale landscape-trade model and 17-acre production footprint.
• Majestic Trees: Specialist UK wholesale tree nursery growing semi-mature and mature specimen trees for landscape architects and designers. Closely mirrors Hortus Loci's trade-only model, mature-specimen focus and delivery-driven service.
• Frank P Matthews: Long-established UK wholesale nursery producing ornamental and fruit trees, including own-root roses, for trade customers. Comparable as a multi-generational wholesale nursery serving landscape professionals across the UK.
• Deepdale Trees: UK wholesale tree nursery supplying semi-mature trees to landscape architects and contractors. Comparable to Hortus Loci in serving trade customers, large-specimen supply and project-based delivery.
• Burncoose Nurseries: Cornwall-based wholesale and retail nursery with a broad range of ornamental plants supplied to designers and the public. Comparable as a multi-variety UK nursery operating wholesale trade alongside a retail/garden-centre channel.
• David Austin Roses: Specialist UK wholesale and retail rose nursery with a deep own-bred cultivar range supplied to garden designers and landscapers. Comparable as a prestige UK grower-wholesaler targeting the high-end design trade.
• Bluebell Arboretum & Nursery: Leicestershire-based specialist nursery supplying a wide range of trees, shrubs and rare plants to landscape designers and the public. Comparable as a broad-variety UK grower-wholesaler serving the design trade.
• Kelways Plants: Somerset-based plant nursery with a long heritage supplying herbaceous perennials, trees and design-trade customers across the UK. Comparable as a multi-generational UK wholesale nursery serving garden designers.

Broad incumbents

• Hillier Nurseries: One of the UK's largest and longest-established nursery and garden-centre groups. Comparable as a broader UK plant production and retail incumbent, but its scale and garden-centre focus sit outside Hortus Loci's specialist wholesale-to-designers niche.
• Notcutts Garden Centres: Established UK garden-centre group with its own production nursery supplying plants across multiple retail sites. Comparable as a broader UK horticulture incumbent, though focused on consumer retail rather than designer trade.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HortusLoci

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hortus Loci