The boss of Britain’s biggest garden centre chain has warned that Ed Miliband’s rush to hit net zero risks saddling it with millions of pounds in extra costs.
Alan Roper, the managing director of Blue Diamond, accused the Energy Secretary of turning UK policy into a “personal achievement project” that disregards the burden on business.
He singled out the damaging impact of Mr Miliband’s proposed net zero efficiency rules, which will require commercial buildings to meet tougher Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) standards by 2031.
For Blue Diamond, which runs 54 garden centres across Britain, the cost of complying with the rules will be substantial.
This is largely because it will require major upgrades to the large glasshouse structures across its estate, which are difficult and expensive to insulate.
Mr Roper said: “We’ve started to seriously look at the costs now, because we’re only a few years away. It’s going to be seven figures – you’re talking millions.”
The Government is consulting on toughening EPC certificates as part of its wider net zero agenda, spearheaded by Mr Miliband.
The Energy Secretary has argued that reducing energy consumption across commercial properties will cut emissions, aiding his efforts to achieve net zero by 2050.
He also claims it will help lock in long-term savings for businesses by reducing energy spending.
However, Mr Roper said the pace of change risked imposing unnecessary costs on firms already grappling with higher taxes, wage bills and inflation.
He said: “I think I get that that’s the future, but why does someone want to do a sprint and make it about himself and his own personal achievement?”
He questioned why businesses, which would face hefty fines for failing to meet EPC standards, are being punished while the Government continues to import gas.
“I’d love Ed Miliband to be in an interview where I could hear him answer the question: ‘Why is it okay for us to buy gas at hugely expensive prices when we could be getting the balance right by drilling oil and gas?’
“We’re 1pc of the world’s emissions. I mean, what are we trying to prove?”
Founded more than a century ago, Blue Diamond has grown into the UK’s largest garden centre operator through a string of acquisitions and new site openings.
The group has enjoyed a strong run of growth. Sales rose 19pc to £395m in 2025, while pre-tax profits climbed 44pc to £31.4m. In the past five years, sales have increased by almost 90pc.
Despite the strong performance, Mr Roper said a succession of government interventions had made it significantly more expensive to employ people and maintain momentum.
Joining a growing number of retail and hospitality bosses criticising Labour’s tax and employment reforms, he described increases in employer National Insurance contributions, and above-inflation rises in the minimum wage as “horrendous”.
“Completely the wrong decision,” said Mr Roper, who joined Blue Diamond in 1999. “I know what they’re trying to achieve, but there have been many good intentions that end in destruction.”
Mr Roper said the cumulative toll of wage and tax changes had stripped more than £12m from Blue Diamond’s profits in the past four years.
“It’s a big hit, and then you have to work hard to try and get that back,” he said.
He also attacked Labour’s Employment Rights Act 2025, which has made statutory sick pay payable for all workers on the first day of illness.
In addition to increasing costs for businesses, many have warned that it will lead some workers to try to cheat the system.
“You really believe that everyone’s honest in this world, and people are not going to exploit that?” he said.
“Somebody now can phone in and say I’ve got a headache, and then you have to pay them. It’s crazy.”
Mr Roper’s warning comes as businesses grapple with inflated shipping costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Despite recent progress towards a peace deal, many of these costs were already baked in for the second half of the year, Mr Roper said.
Container rates had finally fallen back towards pre-pandemic levels after soaring during Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, he said, only to jump sharply again in recent weeks.
“All of the garden leisure we sell – outdoor furniture, barbecues, fire pits and large decorative pots – came in at around $2,000 (£1,726) a container,” he said.
“There was a time post-pandemic when we were paying $13,000, $14,000, $15,000.”
However, in recent weeks, freight costs have surged by $3,500-$4,000 per container, owing to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
This has led Blue Diamond to consider price increases across its range.
“We’re now having to look at our pricing because we can’t absorb it,” he said. “There are breaking points. The consumer always ends up having to pay – otherwise, businesses go out of business.”
However, Mr Roper said the company would seek to pass on higher costs through more discretionary purchases first, such as oversized planters, premium outdoor furniture and luxury garden entertaining products, before raising prices on everyday essentials.
Despite this, the businessman remains hopeful of Blue Diamond’s prospects.
Backed by a recent £60m investment from FTSE 250 investor Caledonia, the company is continuing to acquire sites and expand.
Mr Roper has built the group around what he describes as a more aspirational model than a traditional garden centre, combining plants with restaurants, homewares, clothing, food halls and seasonal departments in an attempt to create a “Waitrose-style” retail experience.
However, he warned that ministers risked making life unnecessarily difficult for businesses through constant intervention, in an early warning shot for Andy Burnham should he replace Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
“I don’t care whether it’s Labour or Tories,” he said. “I care about what comes out of their mouth and what they say.”