Final days for long-standing aquatics business in Whitnash

Sharon Griffin, the owner of Rosedale Aquatics in Home Farm Crescent, recently accepted an offer to sell the premises she owns with the buyer planning to set up a different type of business.

For almost 40 years Rosedale has provided tropical, marine and cold water fish, aquariums, repitles, plants and coral to people from Warwick district and beyond.

But, having run the business for seven days a week for 11 years with only one member of staff to help her, Mrs Griffin, 46 and a mother-of-three, said the offer and opportunity to take early retirement was too good to refuse.

She said: “The option was to either stay for another ten years and carry on working every day or to take this opportunity while I had it.

“I’ve really enjoyed it but now I can spend more time with my family - the job has taken up a lot of my time because you need a certain level of expertise and knowledge which means I’ve had to do a lot of it with only one member of staff to help me.”

Mrs Griffin bought the business from the previous owners in 2004.

She had started off as a customer and said she has always been enthusiastic about keeping fish at her home.

She said: “Watching them is very relaxing.

“I have about 100 fish in total at home, three snakes and I am also taking home Archie the eel when the shop closes. He is very tame and allows you to feed him by hand.

“We have autofeeders though so going on holiday won’t be quite so much of a problem as it used to be.”

Taking a break from running the shop, which will remain open until Christmas, has never really been possible for Mrs Griffin who has had to look after the fish and other animals outside of opening hours.

She said: “My customers have made the whole experience a real pleasure.

“I have developed some good friendships with them over the years and I’m sure they’ll understand why I have taken this opportunity.

“There is a real opening for an independent business to come in to the area now because the two nearest other places which sell what we do are in Rugby and Stratford.

“The business is sound and the customer base is there it would just need somebody who knows what they are doing to come in.”

For more information about Rosedale Aquatics, visit www.rosedaleaquatics.co.uk