About Us

Established in 1973 by Rita & Jack Maher, the business started life as a small hardware store. The shop also sold a small range of electrical accessories introduced by their son Barrie, who was an electrical contractor by trade, a business that still trades as part of J Maher Ltd.

In 1988 the premises next door became available and Barrie, with the help of his wife Janette, decided to buy the property in order to expand the electrical sales side of the business. The second property also came with a small yard, which allowed them to stock an increased range of gardening products.

In 1990 Rita & Jack decided to retire and passed full control of the business to Barrie & Janette. In time the living accommodation above the shop was turned into storage areas & the gardens at the back of the property became a much larger storage yard. This coincided with a local horticultural supplier retiring. Seizing the opportunity Barrie approached local Allotment Societies, with regard to supplying their trading huts. Within 2 years, he had managed to secure contracts to supply almost all of the societies in Bolton and several further afield.

Fearing of being overwhelmed by this area, Barrie asked his son Jon to come in to run that side of the business. Jon expanded the catalogue to list a far greater number of products and within 4 years had managed to expand the business as far as Nelson, Blackburn & Stockport.

At the present time we supply allotment societies all over Greater Manchester, South Lancashire & Merseyside. We also supply Bowling Clubs, Landscapers, Schools, Trade Gardeners, small Garden Centres / Nurseries as well as the general public, with a wide range of horticultural products.

Meantime the Hardware & Electrical Supplies area of the business, continues to prosper, with Barrie’s expert advice in all matters electrical, a valuable tool to many people. The electrical contracting business also continues to prosper, with our team of NICEIC registered electricians willing to take on all kinds of electrical work, big or small.