London-listed residential property company Grainger is to expand its business in Germany with the purchase of a 50% stake in property manager Gebau Vermogen.

Grainger has exchanged contracts to purchase the stake from German property group and parent company Gebau, part of the Linder Group, for an undisclosed price.

The purchase sees Grainger add the management of about 20,000 residential and commercial properties throughout Germany to its books. Grainger said Gebau Vermogen is expected to generate a revenue of €4m (£3.65m) for this year. This will be generated from fees for services including rental management, operating cost accounting, strategic portfolio reviews and other advice.

Clients of Gebau Vermogen include institutional investors, property funds, listed property companies and private individuals.

Grainger currently owns more than 7,000 residential units in Germany with a market value of €530m (£487m).

The jointly-owned business will continue to be managed by Norbert Mittrop and Christian Ploenes although Peter Brock, managing director of Grainger Deutschland will also join the board of directors.

Rupert Dickinson, chief executive of Grainger, said: ‘Through this joint venture, we will further strengthen our expertise in the German residential space and will take another important step towards our long-term goal of becoming an integrated residential specialist in Germany.'