Dobbies Garden Centres has named the former chief operating officer at Pets at Home, David Robinson, as its new chief executive.

Mr Robinson spent four years at Pets at Home and has also held executive roles at Bestway, Argos and Homebase.

He joins Dobbies with the garden centre in expansion mode as it pushes ahead with new store openings, including its smaller urban format Little Dobbies.

Mr Robinson said: “I’m very much looking forward to working with this brilliant business and catering to our nation of gardeners.

“I can’t wait to meet all of the teams and helping propel the business to new heights. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

During his time at Pets at Home, Mr Robinson led major change projects. He spearheaded Pets at Home’s digital transformation, built a new distribution centre, and steered its brand campaign ‘we’re better with pets’.

Last month, Pets at Home hired ex-Asda executive Steve Shirley as its new operations director for retail, completing the company’s senior retail leadership team under chief executive Lyssa McGowan, who joined the business in 2022.

Mr Shirley spent 30 years with Asda, most recently serving as vice-president for wholesale and convenience.