Solus Garden and Leisure issued a statement late on Wednesday afternoon saying that "regretfully" it was no longer in negotiations to join forces with the Scotts Company (UK) Ltd. The proposed deal, announced earlier this year, will now not go ahead, the statement added.

Solus CEO Mark Pearson said: “We are disappointed that our discussions with Scotts have not been fruitful but remain positive about the future of the company.

"The Board and the Shareholders are pursuing a number of other options for the business and we will communicate our plans in due course.’’