GARDEN centre chain Peter Barratt's has been sold to a rival business owned by Scotland's richest tycoon.

The firm, based in Newcastle, has been bought by Wyevale Garden Centres, which has more than 100 outlets nationwide, and is owned by entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter.

Peter Barratt's has an annual turnover of more than £20m, and employs about 400 people at its centres in Gosforth, Newcastle, Stockton, and Beverley, in East Yorkshire.

Yesterday, Wyevale said it was too early to talk about future plans for its new outlets. Last month, the company tried unsuccessfully to buy garden centre firm Dobbies, losing out to Tesco.

Peter Barratt's was set up in the early Eighties by Peter and Angela Barratt, from Newcastle.

Mr Barratt said he felt the time was right to sell the company.

"The takeover offer came out of the blue, but we knew the market was consolidating, with the Tesco takeover of Dobbies, so we had to sit back and evaluate where the market was," he said.

"The business wasn't getting any smaller, we were looking to acquire more centres and we were at the forefront of the market."

Scottish tycoon Sir Tom bought Wyevale 15 months ago for £445.1m through his West Coast Capital business. He made his name and fortune through his Sports Division chain of shops, which he sold for £290m in 1998.

Wyevale chief executive Barry Stevenson said: "We're delighted to be the new owners of Peter Barratt's and we've been a great admirer of the business for a long time as they are some of the most successful centres in the UK."