About Us

Verde Sports Artificial Grass

Verde Sports was founded in 1988 by the late John Hessey and his wife, Nancy. With over 20 years of experience in the artificial sports surfaces industry, John’s vision quickly established Verde as a market leader in three specialist sports: golf, cricket, and bowls.

Today, Verde is proudly run by John’s daughter, Niki Hessey, who joined the company in 1989. In 2000, Niki introduced the concept of artificial grass for landscaping, lawns, and leisure to the UK market — a pioneering move that soon positioned Verde at the forefront of the industry once again. Since then, Verde has grown to serve both private homeowners and a global network of garden centres, builders merchants, landscapers, and retailers.

Based in the heart of North West England, Verde is a passionate, hands-on team known for our loyalty, experience, and friendly service. Our approach is simple: we listen, we care, and we deliver.

With over 37 years of industry experience, we’re proud of the long-term relationships we’ve built with both trade partners and individual customers. It’s this trust and commitment that has driven our continued success.

Verde offers a wide and versatile range of artificial grass products — from professional sports surfaces for golf, bowls, cricket, badminton, and tennis, to high-quality solutions for landscaping, leisure, and even fun-coloured novelty grass. We also supply specialist products like sports mats, horse jumps, and touch-lines, often tailoring them to meet specific customer needs.

Our reputation for excellent customer service sets us apart. We offer fast, often next-day delivery across the UK and distribute throughout Europe and worldwide. Our after-sales support is personal, responsive, and refreshingly rare in today’s world.

Niki has proudly served as Managing Director for over 20 years, leading Verde with integrity, innovation, and an unwavering focus on quality. Under her leadership, the business has gone from strength to strength — and we’re just getting started.

We’re also home to the brilliant Verde Cricket team, originally founded in 1996 by Peter Dury, who played a key role in developing early cricket surface systems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Verde and Verde Cricket joined forces, continuing to deliver high-quality facilities to schools and clubs across the UK. After Peter’s well-deserved retirement, Peter Berry stepped up and has been instrumental in growing our cricket division. With close ties to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), our systems remain fully compliant with their latest standards.

At Verde, we’re not just a supplier — we’re a partner. Whether you're dreaming of a perfect lawn, installing a full-size sports pitch, or creating a custom solution, our knowledgeable and approachable team is here to help every step of the way.

We’re proud to be a trusted name in artificial grass — and we look forward to helping you bring your vision to life.