Accountancy firm Deloitte has announced today that it has acquired Britain's oldest property advice firm Drivers Jonas. The deal strengthens Deloitte's presence in the property agency market.

Drivers Jonas is a 285-year-old property advisory firm and is known for its public sector works. Drivers Jonas' more than 650 partners and employees will join the new combined entity which will have revenue of more than £110m.

The new group will be called Drivers Jonas Deloitte and it will have a total of 700 partners and professionals. It will be one of the largest property consultancies in the UK.

Deloitte sees significant opportunity in the £2bn real estate advisory market and indicated that the company would expand its presence with the acquisition.

The real estate group will be headed by Nick Shepherd who is managing partner of Drivers Jonas. This acquisition is a second for the month after the firm acquired a small software consultancy business.

Deloitte chief John Connolly said, "We see a clear opportunity to combine the skills of our specialists in tax, corporate finance, business consulting and our real estate strategy team with the Drivers Jonas team which has an outstanding reputation for providing the highest quality independent advice in this market."

The consultancy business which accounts for nearly a quarter of firm revenues rose 3 per cent to £469m in the year to the end of May.

Analyst expected acquisitions in the UK property surveying market as it is too fragmented and many fee-based businesses found it difficult to survive with a sharp fall in transactions and values.