Meet the Team

Gavin – Director
Gavin joined us in 2001 to open our new venture Applejacks restaurant before becoming the General Manager of the Centre. He worked closely with the family to help grow the business and to ensure their values and visions are still part of the business today which is to offer a family friendly shopping experience to all, stocking high quality, plants and always ensuring the customer leaves with all the gardening knowledge and advice needed to create their perfect garden. When not at work he likes trying out new local cuisine and spending time with family and friends so you will often find him in one of our restaurants!

Jim – Store Manager
Started back in 2002 as a Weekend Catering Assistant and after 2 years moved onto the Garden Centre Sales Assistant Team with an interest in Garden Design and Landscaping at heart. In 2005 Jim took a full time position and swiftly moved on to Supervisory Tasks. Within a few years Jim progressed to join the management team and ultimately became the Store Manager. Still a keen Horticulturalist and Garden Designer, Jim most enjoys being outdoors and in his spare time, loves a bit of DIY!

Amanda – Food Hall Manager
Joined Twenty Pence as Assistant Restaurant Manager in Oct 2019 and has since been promoted to Food Hall Manager in 2023. Coming from a similar background, Amanda was previously the Manager of a Farm Shop. She loves working at Twenty Pence because of the variety of her job where no two days are the same and enjoys meeting all our great customers. In her spare time she enjoys gardening and spending time with her family -mostly visiting gardens and walking all their dogs!

Paul – Plant Manager
Paul grew up on a private estate, where his father was Head Gardener. Through this he was lucky to meet some great gardeners including the great, grey plant grower Mrs Desmond Underwood. His first garden job was as gardener at Farm Hall, Godmanchester and then he studied for 3 years at Cambridge College of Horticulture, self-funded. During this time he ran his own gardening business and wrote a weekly gardening column for a local paper. In 2013 Paul joined the team at Twenty Pence. Starting as Plant Area Team Leader and moving up to Plant Area Manager, Paul most enjoys sourcing unusual plants for the store and loves passing on his plant knowledge to the rest of the team.

Rebecca - Restaurant Manager Applejacks
When I was only 18 years old, I started my career in hospitality and over the years, have worked my way up to Restaurant Manager, holding various positions in pubs and restaurants along the way. I joined the team at Twenty Pence in 2021 as Assistant Manager of Applejacks Restaurant and within two months was promoted to Restaurant Manager. In my spare time I love going for long dog walks and spending time with my family and friends. 

Claire – Catering Manager Applejacks 
I have worked in retail and management for around ten years. When I first joined Twenty Pence, I started off working on the garden side of things, in the plant area.  I then moved up to Food Hall assistant and was promoted to Assistant Manager of Applejacks at the end of 2021 then promoted to catering manager in 2022.  I am obsessed with Halloween and House Plants and I love nothing more than pottering around in my garden so for me, working at Twenty Pence Garden Centre is ideal!

Peter – Senior Supervisor
From a well-established catering background, Peter joined the team in 2018 as a sales assistant.  He worked his way up to Senior Supervisor, gaining his forklift licence on the way, preparing the perfect pizza in the Orchard Pizzeria and is one of our designated First Aiders. In his spare time he enjoys socialising and hosting big BBQs for his friends and family.

Jon– Supervisor
Jon joined the team back in 2018 as a young college student looking for a part-time job.He thoroughly enjoyed working as part of a great team in his local area. He began to develop, taking many roles in the business from sales assistant to team leader to his current position. Outside of Twenty Pence, he runs and plays in his own 6 a side football team. His other passions include golf and fishing.