Garden Centre Slip Testing — UK-wide.

Garden Centre Slip Testing — UKAS-accredited testing

Surface Performance Ltd — operating under UKAS ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, Lab Schedule No. 7933 — provides BS 7976-2 pendulum slip resistance testing to garden centre retail — Dobbies, Wyevale legacy estate, Notcutts, British Garden Centres, plus independent and farm-shop garden retail.

The pendulum test, carried out in accordance with BS 7976-2:2002+A1:2013, is the preferred pedestrian slip test method recommended by the Health and Safety Executive and the UK Slip Resistance Group. It is the only slip test evidence accepted by UK courts in civil slip injury claims. The UKAS endorsement mark on our reports is what differentiates evidence that holds up in court from evidence that does not.

High-risk zones in garden centres

Every garden centre environment carries its own slip-risk profile. Our typical survey scope covers indoor retail floors, the wet-plant zones (extremely high slip risk), café floors, external paving and gravel transitions, customer toilets and entrance lobbies.

Who we work with

Our typical client base in this format includes centre managers, group H&S directors, FM teams and operator group risk leads. We deliver single-site testing alongside group-level programmes coordinated across multiple sites in a brand portfolio.

What's included in every survey

• BS 7976-2 pendulum slip testing in both dry and wet (contaminated) conditions, with the Slider 96 (the standard for retail customer-facing surfaces).
• Surface roughness (Rz) measurement on smooth surfaces where pendulum results alone could mislead.
• Photographic and locational evidence at every test point, plan-marked for the report.
• UKAS-endorsed report within five working days.
• Independent recommendations — we do not sell flooring or anti-slip treatments.

Multi-site programmes

Group-level programmes coordinated across multiple garden centres sites in a brand portfolio deliver consistent UKAS-accredited evidence at predictable per-site pricing. Typical pricing for multi-site retail programmes starts from £350 per store for groups of 5+ sites — significantly more cost-effective than ad-hoc per-site testing.

Insurance and brand-standard alignment

Reports are written to align with the standards expected by retail group risk teams, brand-standard auditors and public-liability underwriters. The UKAS endorsement mark is what separates a report accepted as expert evidence from a report dismissed in court.