Only 18% of UK grower businesses said they were in a position to invest in new technology over the following 12 months, according to first-half 2026 figures published by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). The association released its FutureGrow: Nursery of the Future vision at FutureGrow Expo on 6 October 2026, identifying a financing gap at the same time as it calls for greater adoption of robotics, sensors, automation and resource-efficient nursery practices.
In its original report launch announcement, HTA cited rising business costs, weak confidence and access to finance as barriers. The 18% figure is an association-reported survey measure; the public release does not specify a survey sample size. It refers to a wider group of ornamental plant and tree growers, including both protected-crop and outdoor nurseries, not exclusively greenhouse operators.
Where nursery technology investment could go
The association’s Nursery of the Future vision identifies six areas for development: water security, automation and robotics, growing-media management, integrated pest protection, workforce skills and plant health. It envisages more crop monitoring and climate management inside glasshouses as well as more efficient operations in outdoor production.
HTA says growers need capital grants, accessible finance and workable planning and environmental regulation to make the transition. These are industry policy requests; the report itself does not announce a new government funding award or an enacted regulation.
Water security and market scale
The HTA’s longer-form vision reports that 59% of growers considered a loss of mains or abstracted water during a peak operating period a threat to business survival. That is a reported sector assessment, not a quantified probability of water outages, and it is not necessarily a greenhouse-only percentage.
HTA also estimates that UK environmental horticulture supplied £1.6 billion of plants, trees, flowers and bulbs during 2025. That value encompasses the broader environmental horticulture sector; it must not be presented as the revenue of greenhouse production alone.
What the figures mean for suppliers
Equipment makers and greenhouse builders face a potential gap between growers’ interest in efficient production systems and their ability to fund investment. Uptake of greenhouse automation and resource-saving equipment will depend on finance, demonstrable payback and producer confidence. The association’s 2040 vision describes intended change, not installations already realised.
Key takeaways
- HTA says only 18% of UK grower businesses were ready to invest in new technology in the next 12 months.
- The evidence covers protected and outdoor nursery production, not greenhouses alone.
- The association proposes financing and policy support, but no new grant or legal requirement is established by the report.
