The former owner of Gardman, Paris Natar, has acquired a majority stake in Smart Solar for an undisclosed sum.
Mr Natar has been managing his own garden products businesses since 1982, exiting the most recent, Gardman, five years ago when he sold it to Barclays Private Equity in a deal worth £85m.

Smart Solar has been acquired through a holding company formed for the purpose, SGP Holdings (UK). Mr Natar, now Smart Solar chairman, and Smart Solar's founder and chief executive Jonathan Stobart are sole shareholders.

Mr Natar described Smart Solar as "a great company. 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!"