Atisreal has bought the Spanish residential and commercial agency in a move which will see it become the country’s second largest property services firm in terms of revenue

The new firm will be called Atisreal Espana and will have around 400 staff in 11 offices throughout Spain. Atisreal Espana will be managed by chairman Jorge Zanoletty and chief executive officer Maria Marin. It estimates an annual gross turnover this year of more than €40m (£26.9m). The purchase of Grupo Gesinar does not include its South American subsidiary companies in Argentina and Chile

Grupo Gesinar, which was previously owned by venture capitalist 3i, was established in 1998 and employs 273 staff. The agency had a gross turnover of €28m (£18.85m) in 2005. It is currently marketing a portfolio of 10 000 new residential units and also has more than 5m sq ft (500 000 sq m) of office space under management.

Before the acquisition Atisreal was ranked eighth in Spain in terms of turnover. Philippe Zivkovic, chairman of Atisreal and of its parent company BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: ‘This acquisition is strategic for Atisreal as it reinforces our presence in all of our four core business activities: services, property management, investment management and property development. Spain will now join France, Germany and the UK as one of our major European markets.’