Gateley announced today that it has bought Capitus, a UK specialist tax incentives advisory firm that advises institutional and professional investors on their commercial property transactions, for a total of £2.72m. The deal includes £1.59m in cash and just over 1.1 million ordinary shares in the company; the shares are locked in for three years.

The new business, renamed Gateley Capitus, is the first addition to the group since the firm floated on the LSE in June last year.

According to Gateley, in the year ended 30 June 2015, Capitus had revenues of £1.38m and generated an operating profit of £593,000. The firm’s board expects the acquisition to be ‘immediately earnings enhancing.’

Gateley said the addition will bring expertise in a range of tax incentives, open new and growing markets and diversify income streams. The announcement added that Capitus’ management ‘believe that recent changes to tax legislation in the UK will lead to further increased demand for expert advice in these areas’.

The deal is understood to be the first merger between a full-service national law firm and a firm regulated by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, which oversees qualifications and standards in land, property and construction.