James Avery and David Newman are Spalding-based and will serve the grower market with products from firms such as William Sinclair, Scotts, Yorkshire Horticulture Supplies, Desch Plantpak, Omex, Rainbow and Melcourt, which feature in a new 40-page catalogue. The new venture launched at an event at Springfields Exhibition Centre in Spalding, with 70 growers from Green-Tech's 1,000-strong list hearing speeches from the Horticultural Development Company, the HTA, Syngenta and Barclays.

Green-Tech sales and export director Mark Whiting said: "We took on two ex-Avoncrop employees and have been giving back office support to our satellite office in Northern Ireland since 2005, so it's not too much of a stretch."

He said Green-Tech had rejected buying Avoncrop offices, which administrator Leonard Curtis now hoped to buy. Leasehold sites at Bracknell in Berkshire and Sandford in north Somerset have been returned and Boston in Lincolnshire is to become a tyre depot.

Companies such as BHGS, Munro, East Riding, Fargro, LS Systems and Altys were in line to pick up Avoncrop's pots, compost and sundries supply business.

Whiting added that it was essential to manage bad debt and exposure effectively to avoid going the way of Avoncrop.