The phrase “we’re like a family” can be a cliched one, especially when it comes to business.

But if there’s one word to describe Squires, then it’s definitely ‘family’, possibly followed by ‘community’.

Excitement is growing throughout the much-loved chain garden with branches in Badshot Lea, Frensham and Milford as the firm will mark 90 years of business in 2026.

But its roots remain embedded in Surrey after years of steady expansion and it remains a family firm, with the fourth generation now onboard.

“I think there’s a real feeling that we’re part of the community and that’s partly because of the Squires family involvement,” said Colin Squire OBE, chairman emeritus and son of the firm’s founding father, D.J. Squire.

“It’s important to be part of the community we serve and we want to be imbued in the community, both for our staff and customers. We also want to our know our team and customers and when you come into our centres, you’ll often find them on a first-name terms.”

Colin was one of three key members of the Squires hierarchy the Herald recently interviewed at their Badshot Lea centre ahead of Family Business Week.

The timing seemed right to delve into the history, current workings and future of a chain that has remained in family hands since its founding in Twickenham in the mid 1930s.

Like many success stories, Squires began in hardship when David Squire, head groundsman and gardener at the Met Police Orphanage was made redundant.

He decided to turn his love of gardening and horticultural into a business to support his young family with a focus on landscaping small domestic gardens.

The firm turned over its nurseries to vegetable production during the Second World War and built a number of Anderson air raid shelters in the grounds of Twickenham and Sunbury properties during the conflict.

But things really started to grow in the 1960s as people became more interested in gardening for themselves instead of getting outside help, with the firm opening their first garden centre in Twickenham in 1964.

The quest for the good life prompted an expansion, and the family-owned group now boasts 16 garden centres and café bars from West Sussex to Wokingham.

Colin’s daughter, Sarah Squire, is the current chairman while the youngest family member, Felicia Baily, is now on firmly on board after Covid prompted a career rethink.

She was a transport consultant but the resulting isolation left her seeing the family business with fresh eyes and she’s now involved in HR and sustainability at the firm.

She said: “It’s very much a choice but I’m glad I made it.

“I was in transport consultancy for a few years and I actually enjoyed it, but a lot of that was during Covid and being in isolation.

“Coming to work I realised what I had been missing with family and people and you really feel that here.”

As a fiercely independent business, Squire’s is somewhat unique in the retail environment – with some similar challenges, but also others which don’t face those of traditional high street retail businesses.

The firm is also closely linked to horticulture and farming, two sectors which are often generational. Indeed, our chat takes place not long after the ‘Tractor Tax’ protest in central London, with the family recognising the reasoning for the gathering in Whitehall.

“There’s an awful lot of third or second family firms around, especially in the gardening world and especially so in horticulture,” added Colin.

“Perhaps there’s more of a tradition in our line of work, but I think people like the fact we’re still a family chain.

“I think we’ve always felt we were in it for the long haul.

“It’s such a diverse operation now and you’ve only got to look around to see how garden centres have changed.”

It’s true. Going to a garden centre often feels like an excursion these days, as it’s much more than just getting things for the garden. You’ll find clothing, a café and Christmas decorations at Badshot Lea, for instance.

“We also want to keep things simple,” said Sarah.

“We don’t want overseas investors and things like that as we’ve grown organically and want to keep it that way.

“A lot of our business ethos is a result of what we are. It’s a way of life and we want people to be part of that family.”

Victoria Broughton, PR manager for Squires, highlighted the sense of family of at the Badshot Lea branch as many staff members have worked at the centre for years, if not decades, with the help desk assistant on the day being an employee of 20-plus years.

She said: “A lot of people who come to our centres know the centre teams and their staff by first names.

“People buy into that and the family thing. If you went into a High Street retailer chances are the staff inside won’t have been there long and won’t be there for years, but here we’ve got very loyal staff.

“The staff are an extension of the Squires family.”

The line between staff and family blurs even more during busy periods, as the likes of Colin, Sarah and Felicia aren’t afraid to help out on the shop floor or café.

“My favourite word is the word ‘with’ and that’s because we work with our team,” said Sarah.

“If people need a hand we will help them. I’m now a master operator of the dishwasher, for instance, but none of us are above jobs like that.

“There’s a connection with the people, and I think that also shows in some other things we do like the Love Where You Live project, which has been really successful.”

The LWYL scheme is a community gardening programme which resulted in the launch of a £5,000 fund to support projects close to its garden centres.

It sought to assist community gardening projects set up to grow produce or provide health and wellbeing benefits through horticulture.

Having so many stores means the family don’t have to wait long to celebrate a milestone.

Their original Twickenham garden centre was 60 this year while the firm will mark 50 years of the Shepperton centre in 2025.

The following year is going to be even bigger as it’s the firm’s 90th birthday while the family will also mark 20 years of the flagship Badshot Lea branch.

No-one knows what the future holds, of course, and there have been setbacks along the way like the devastating 1998 fire which largely destroyed their Hersham site.

And it’s a big ask to assume Squires will still be here and in family hands a further 90 years down the line, but you’ve only got to look at some of the UK’s most famous names to realise big family firms have a future.

“There are some big family businesses still out there,” said Colin, who joked that he also “runs the car park”.

“Hilliers go back to the 1820s and it’s still in family hands, and Fortnum and Mason go back a long way.”

“What happens in the future?” mused Sarah.

“I’d like to hope that when I’m dead my children are still giving it a go and enjoying it. I certainly do.”