Former Gardman chairman and ceo Paris Natar is to stand down from his non-executive post at the company in August.
Mr Natar founded the garden and bird care products supplier in 1992, and sold his controlling stake in the company to Barclays Private Equity in 2007 in a deal worth £85m.

He stayed with Gardman to support the transition to a new ceo and management team, and became a non-executive director in June 2010.

Mr Natar, who remains a shareholder in the business, commented: "As founder and ongoing investor, I shall continue to be very interested in Gardman's future progress. I have had a brilliant 18 years there and made many lifelong friends in the process including colleagues, customers and suppliers. But at 55 years of age and with a beautiful two-and-a-half-year-old daughter at home, I believe it is now time to more fully explore life beyond Gardman. I wish them all success in the months and years ahead."

Gardman ceo Mark Pearson added: "Paris has give us fantastic support throughout the transition and we have great confidence in the team that we have built during that time to manage the continuing growth of the business. Everyone at Gardman wishes him and his family well, and trust that he will stay close to the very many friends he has in the company here in the UK and around the world."