Profit at Dobbies Garden Centres fell 30% last year, hit by the wet summer of 2012 which turned out to be the final season after 23 years for former managing director James Barnes.

Mr Barnes, who led a management buy-out in 1994 and a flotation three years later, left Dobbies suddenly in July, along with finance director Sharon Brown.

The departures appeared to coincide with the development by Tesco of new strategic plans involving its standalone businesses. It has just opened only its second combined Tesco-Dobbies store, in Inverness, and has been busy this year gaining control of outlets such as restaurant chain Giraffe and the Euphorium bakery. This week has seen the opening of the first garden centre fresh fish counter, in the Dobbies at Braehead, near Glasgow.

A spokesman said: "Investment has remained a key focus for us - we recently invested in our first two co-joined centres with Tesco, and we are currently working through the early planning process for other sites."

Garden centre executive Andy King took over as managing director in September, while a Tesco secondee, Max Britten, is interim finance director.

Tesco bought Dobbies in 2007 after seeing off a bid from Sir Tom Hunter. Dobbies saw turn-over rise from £136.3 million to £137.4m in the year to February 28, helped by one new store opening, while profits fell from £10.5m to £7.3m.

The directors said summer 2012 had been the wettest for 100 years, and gross margin had eased from 51.3% to 49.9% due to promotional activity and a "better value proposition for customers". The highest-paid director, assumed to be Mr Barnes, was paid £283,000.