Emaar Properties have taken over Hamptons International, one of the UK’s most established estate agencies, in a deal worth £82m.

Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, said: “The acquisition of Hamptons International, which follows our recent buy of the second largest private home builder in the US, John Laing Homes, is a forward vertical integration for Emaar and a reiteration of our Vision 2010 to become the most valuable group in the world.”

He added: “The deal scales up our core competencies in product sales in the international arena and takes Emaar’s market presence beyond the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the Indian Subcontinent and North America to include Europe, and thus, practically the entire Western hemisphere. The acquisition extends our global outreach and will build our international network of offices to over 130 by year 2009.”

Jonathan Seal, CEO of Hamptons International Residential Development & Investment, said: “Emaar’s acquisition of Hamptons International gives us a tremendously strong platform to replicate our business success within the UK into Europe and other regions across the world. This is an outstanding opportunity to rapidly expand our presence in the Middle East and beyond and will present excellent opportunities for the business as a whole.