Seed company buys out plant food firm

After months of negotiation, a company which specialises in supplying garden and greenhouse seeds has bought out troubled plant food firm Chempak.

Thompson & Morgans purchase of the stricken company could come just in time, after a management buy-out was required to save it after its parent company went into liquidation following the loss of a major client.

The business ran into trouble in late 2009 and negotiations have been going on for four months, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) reported.

Chempak supplies specialist plant food for palms, orchids, tomatoes and fuchsias and Thompson & Morgan has revealed that it intends to keep the majority of its products.

However, a full re-launch of the brand will follow a review of its products, with Thompson & Morgan planning to distribute them more widely.

It will eventually work the products into its catalogue and sell them at its garden centres.

In other news, the RHS website recently paid tribute to renowned fruit growing expert Hugh Ermen, who died late last year.