A real estate investment company has taken full control of commercial property advisors Porters Chartered Surveyors, two years after buying a 51% controlling stake.

Lall Group, which has a rented property portfolio worth £10 million across Kent, will rebrand the chartered surveying firm to Porters Commercial.

The Maidstone-based company, which completed the deal on Monday, first took a share in the business after its chief executive Shahan Lall sold it to the group in April 2015.

He had taken a 30% stake in October 2013, extending it to 51% a year later.

The combined firms employ 17 people and will move into larger offices in the town in September.

Mr Lall said: "This acquisition has been a four years in the making and marks Porters as a growing stakeholder in the commercial market in the South East.

“It launches Porters as the well rounded general commercial practice it has been for the past four years.”

Paul Wookey, chief executive of business investment agency Locate in Kent, said the growing commercial sector in Kent “is one of the draws for businesses looking to move their operations to the county”.

He said: “It’s great to see Lall Group invest in this area, marking the region as a real hub of commercial prospects.

“The fact a local business appreciates the value of this area will encourage others, nationwide, to look to Kent as an alternative.”