Shanks, the UK waste disposal company, is to buy the Dutch waste operator Waste Management Nederland for £207.7m. The group, which has been expanding into Europe and has a business based in Belgium, said the deal would take it into new areas.

Waste Management Nederland is one of the largest waste operators in the Netherlands by turnover and operates eight businesses. It provides waste collection, recycling and industrial cleaning and other services. It also owns a hazardous waste facility treating more than 750,000 tonnes a year and an electronic recycling business. Waste Management Nederland's turnover was NG450.2m (£124.4m) last year.

Michael Averill, chief executive of Shanks, said: "This takes us into a number of new areas such as soil cleaning technologies and refuse derived fuel." He said that the company was also poised to benefit from a new EU directive due to be introduced later this year which would create greater demand for recycling electronic goods like TVs or radios.

Anna Lagerkvist