Putting Guernsey on the map

On the day in 1904 when a group of local businessmen met at one of their houses to discuss the formation of a new horticultural company, few could have foreseen that it would expand to become to a UK and Channel Island wide business with a multi-million pound turnover.

Blue Diamond, which now operates 12 businesses, with garden centres at its core, began life as the Fruit Export Company. That incarnation played a pivotal role in island life and Blue Diamond’s management and directors have always been immensely proud of the company’s local roots.

When William Stranger, John Leale, P.F. Dorey, Percy Dorey, Arthur Dorey and John Dorey sat down with G.F. Peek to create the new business, the horticultural industry was playing an increasingly important role in island life. Grapes were the staple crop but some growers had started to see the potential in growing tomatoes.

Demonstrating their astute approach, the group decided to acquire a Manchester-owned business called Kelly and Co Ltd, which was in financial difficulties. They agreed to discharge its liabilities. A list was then produced of flower and vegetable salesmen the length and breadth of England who would act as commission agents.

Moving a step closer to actually trading, the group decided to buy 5,000 wicker baskets from the Le Couter brothers in Torteval. By March of that year, they introduced a blue diamond brand on to these containers and this has been the logo of the company ever since, outliving its Fruit Export existence.
Records show that ‘gratifying results’ began to be achieved very soon after the launch and in its first year the company made a net profit of £642.16 shillings and 6 pence. This result was described as ‘excellent’.
Its main driving force was Percy Dorey, grandfather of current Chairman, Geoffrey Dorey. By 1929, the Fruit Export Company had 80 salesmen in the UK dealing exclusively in Guernsey tomatoes and was adding to its local portfolio of Guernsey vineries.

The amount of produce exported in 1930 was an astonishing 1.2 million boxes of tomatoes. The company continued to thrive in the intervening decades, except for the inevitable difficulties of the war years. More recently, the 1970s presented a major challenge when glasshouse growing was hard hit by soaring oil costs and high interest rates, coupled with competition from subsidised foreign growers.
The company decided to diversify and developed a retail platform for its premises at Les Banques and acquired Datalink. In following years it began its programme of acquiring and upgrading garden centres.

After an 80-year link with the site at Les Banques, the company decided that it needed different premises for its retail operation and acquired Le Friquet. It was the end of one era, but the start of another, when the stunning new centre was opened in September 2009.