Cheers! Friends use new pub as home for tree business

TWO friends who started a Christmas tree business in lockdown have relocated after profits fell by 30 per cent last year due to flooding.

Jim Sneddon, 57, and Justin Savage, 55, opened Jim and Justin’s Christmas Trees after they were no longer able to do their day jobs.

For the first four years they operated out of the grounds at the Flower Pot in Aston but relocated to the Little Angel in Remenham Lane last month.

When Storm Darragh hit last year it damaged profits as visitors struggled to get to them because of flooding in the lane leading up to the pub.

Mr Sneddon, of Hamilton Road in Wargrave, met Mr Savage, a cameraman, 30 years ago when their friend groups merged in Henley.

Mr Savage, of Ravenscroft Road in Henley, approached Mr Sneddon with the business idea in 2020 over a drink.

Mr Sneddon, who works in data protection, said: “I never thought in a million years we’d be running a Christmas tree business.

“When Justin had the idea, it was an off-hand jokey comment and I laughed. We sat over a pint and thought about it and thought, ‘Why not?’

“It was something we could legally do in lockdown and it’s something that benefits the community. We couldn’t do our normal jobs but you could sell plants.

“Because of lockdown, people weren’t really interested in seeing consultants, which is what I was doing.

“They were much more interested in what was happening in their local areas and in their own households.

“We thought this would be a good thing to do and it will help us to pay the bills.”

The friends sell non-drop Nordmann fir trees and Fraser fir trees, which are sourced from the Yattendon Estate near Newbury.

They offer tree care advice and the plants, of which they stock 300 and top them up when needed, measure from 3ft to 15ft.

They have also supplied Christmas trees free of charge to pubs in the area and donated two trees to the Chiltern Centre for disabled young adults in Greys Road.

Mr Sneddon hopes the new location will make them easier to find. He said: “Sales were down last year quite dramatically and it was primarily due to the weather, particularly the flooding.

“I think people either got artificial trees or went to garden centres where it was a little bit more sheltered to choose their trees.”

Mr Sneddon said he runs the business to feel like part of a “community”.

He said: “From a financial perspective, we’re not going to retire doing this. It’s not going to make us millionaires. It’s about seeing families with their children come to choose their tree and the big smiles on their faces.

“When you’re selling Christmas trees, not many people are grumpy. The biggest thing you get is a husband and wife arguing about what size tree they’re going to get.

“We know some people who have been coming year after year and it’s just really good fun. We’re both handymen and we’ve got our toolkits but if the people of Henley weren’t so generous, this wouldn’t work.”

Mr Savage said he didn’t think the business would be the success it has become.

“We thought we might only sell 20 to 30 trees and we sold between 250 and 300 in our first year. We have a very loyal fan base.

“We’ve now moved to higher ground which I think is a smart idea because we’re closer to town and we knew not having the risk of floods would be a good thing.” He added that the venture had been a learning curve. “We’d only ever bought a Christmas tree at Christmas time so we suddenly had to learn about which trees to get and the different types,” he said. “We knew we wanted local trees and eco-friendly so we didn’t want them to be shipped to us.

“We just knew it would be a good fit for us because we’re both outdoor types and pretty hardy lads so we don’t mind standing there in the cold and rain.”