HML Holdings bought WA Ellis Property Management for £1.3 million, the lion’s share of which was satisfied by the placing of 481,000 shares at 27p each.

Of the total consideration, ten per cent has been deferred for 12 months and will be paid in cash.

The company was sold by Knightsbridge-based estate agent and surveyor WA Ellis. The firm, which was established in 1868, has been expanding its business recently and will use the proceeds of the sale to open new offices in West and Central London.

This latest deal follows HML’s acquisition in May of Aldershot-based residential management and letting company Harrisons for £300,000 and the addition of London Provincial Properties to its portfolio in November for £237,000.

WA Ellis Property Management has more than 2,000 units under management, mainly in Central London. Its property managers act for institutional and property developers as well as resident management companies. In the year to May, the company made pre-tax profits of £123,000 from a turnover of £869,000.

HML offers a range of services including surveying, buildings and related insurance, health and safety inspections and company secretarial management.