A garden centre will receive a major cash injection after its owners struck a £1.5m venture capital deal.

Close Brothers VCTs ploughed the investment into the Q Garden Company which owns four garden centres, including one in Chinnor.

The investment is in the form of five-year term loan stock and ordinary equity and will result in Close Venture Management, of which Close Brothers VCTS is a division, owning about 45 per cent of the firm.

QGC was formed in April 2000 by Simon Quinton Smith and Peter Rose to take on the management and turn-around of under-performing garden centres with a view to buying them, should targets be met.

All its centres have been developed under the Q brand.

The management has increased performance and profitability by focusing on brand, strong merchandising and new lines away from the core plant offering.

The company's future growth strategy will combine selected acquisitions of established centres with further management contracts that include the options to buy.

Ole Bettum, director of Close Venture Management, said that the market leader in the business only had about a six per cent market share.

He added: "We can see significant opportunities for QGC to successfully continue with its management and acquisition strategy, and therefore generate a healthy return for our in- vestors."

Notcutts Garden Centre, which has an outlet in Nuneham Courtenay, won a gold medal for a sensory garden exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show.