Contractor and housebuilder Galliford Try has bought chartered surveyor Pentland for an initial sum of £1.1m, to be followed by a maximum additional payment of £1.7m, depending on future profits.

Pentland specialises in site acquisition and town and country planning services to the mobile phone industry. It is a good fit with Galliford Try Communications, which already provides design and construction services to the mobile phone industry. The company this week said the rationale behind the purchase was to extend the range of services it offered by identifying and acquiring sites for mobile phone masts and other equipment.

Pentland has offices in Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle and Gloucester.

Greg Fitzgerald, Galliford’s chief executive, said he saw opportunities in the industry from the expected increase in the use of 3G.