Gardman founder Paris Natar has acquired a majority stake in Smart Solar Ltd for an undisclosed sum, the company announced yesterday.

Natar has been running garden products businesses since 1982, when he set up PAN Products, followed by Gardman. In 2008, he sold Gardman to Barclays Private Equity in a deal worth £85m.

“Smart Solar is a great company,” he said today.  “It has a strong and very committed management team that has navigated this long recession effectively and profitably. Having concluded that early retirement was not my cup of tea, I made an approach to see if Smart Solar might be interested in working with me....and they were!”

Jonathan Stobart, chief executive of Smart Solar, which he set up in 2003, said: “We are very pleased that Paris has chosen to invest in us and join the team as chairman. He brings a wealth of industry-specific experience and I am confident he will add significant value to our already vibrant and rapidly expanding business.”

Smart Solar Ltd has been acquired through a holding company formed for the purpose, SGP Holdings (UK) Ltd, with Natar and Stobart as the sole shareholders.  Natar said: “I have the highest regard for Jonathan and the sterling work he has done since founding Smart Solar ten years ago. I very much look forward to working with him and his team in the years ahead.”

They said their message to the garden industry was: “Watch this space!”