ITV has agreed to purchase the independent TV production company The Garden for £18 million, Televisual.com reports today (April 22, 2013). The company, which produces innovative documentaries such as 24 Hours in A&E and The Audience for Channel 4 will now be bought for the considerable sum, by ITV, who will then make a further cash payment, depending on performance, over the next five years.

The Garden was originally launched in 2010, by Magnus Temple and Nick Curwin. Since its inception, the company has developed a reputation for creating high quality documentary series, mainly for the BBC and Channel 4. It includes programmes such as Seven Dwarves and Keeping Britain Alive amongst its successes. In 2011, ITV signed a joint development deal with The Garden, as part of its endeavours to work with new talent within the TV industry. The managing director of ITV Studios, Kevin Lygo, commented “The Garden has grown rapidly and achieved an enviable reputation for outstanding delivery of innovative, ambitious documentary series for the BBC and Channel 4. A key focus for ITV is to develop hit programmes which we can then export globally and The Garden already has an impressive track record.”

Speaking on behalf of The Garden, Temple and Curwin commented “We have a trusting, creative and fruitful relationship with ITV Studios, having previously joined forces to bolster our development efforts… Being part of ITV will help us grow further in the UK and, in particular, to achieve our international ambitions. We will be working more closely with ITVS whilst continuing to concentrate as hard as ever on our important relationships with Channel 4 and the BBC."