Deloitte buys Drivers Jonas

Drivers Jonas, which was established in 1725 and has an office in Leeds, will move its 650 employees to Deloitte's much smaller real estate team by March, Deloitte said in a statement on Friday.

Under the terms of the deal, Nick Shepherd, managing partner of Drivers Jonas, will become managing partner of the enlarged real estate group. It will have around 700 staff, annual revenues of more than 110m and will trade as Drivers Jonas Deloitte.

A spokesman for Deloitte said no capital was changing hands between the two parties and there would be no job losses following the merger.

News of the deal comes amid renewed optimism for the prospects of the British property market, where average commercial real estate values tumbled close to 45 percent between June 2007 and August 2009.

Since then, demand for income-producing real estate has boomed against a backdrop of rock-bottom interest rates, fluctuating stock markets and lower bond yields.

Last month, UK commercial property prices climbed by 3 per cent, their highest monthly rise for 23 years as buyer demand eclipsed the numbers of assets available for purchase