The Sherry FitzGerald group has acquired London estate agency Vanstons for close to €5 million.

The Vanstons chain will be wholly owned by the 150-year-old agency Marsh & Parsons, in which the Sherry Fitzgerald Group acquired a 76 per cent shareholding in June last year for €8 million.

The takeover of Vanstons will bring Marsh & Parsons' representation in London to 12 offices.

The managing director of Marsh & Parsons, 44-year-old Peter Rollings, holds a 20 per cent stake in the agency. Rollings, a former managing director of the well-known Foxtons chain, also has a 1 per cent shareholding in the Sherry FitzGerald Group.

Sherry FitzGerald expects the acquisition of Vanstons will see 25 per cent of its turnover come from its London business.

Established in 1979, Vanstons has been bought from its founder Michael Winter and director Gay Kaye. It employs 35 people and has five offices in Clapham, Fulham, Battersea, Balham and Barnes. These will be added to Marsh & Parsons' branches in central and west London.

Mark Fitzgerald, chief executive of the Sherry FitzGerald Group, says Marsh & Parsons' turnover has seen a 100 per cent increase in the period since the takeover last year, and its staff has doubled to just over 100. He describes Vanstons as "a natural geographical fit with Marsh & Parsons".

Sherry FitzGerald's chief economist Marian Finnegan says the London market has seen a significant recovery after over four years of stagnation post 9/11.

She says growth in London is now outpacing the rest of the UK at 7 per cent.