European holiday accommodation rentals specialist @Leisure-Group has recently completed the acquisition of the UK-based pureholidayhomes.com for an undisclosed sum.

pureholidayhomes.com, launched in January 2010, has over 26,500 properties listed.

Sean Collins, CEO, pureholidayhomes.com said, “Our inclusion into the @Leisure-Group will give us the resources and necessary investment to ensure pureholidayhomes.com remains at the forefront of the ever progressing holiday rental market in the UK and across Europe.”

The Dutch group chose to go ahead with this acquisition in order to strengthen its portfolio of online accommodation brands, which currently includes in excess of 300,000 holiday homes, holiday parks and hotels through its Belvilla, Ardennes Relais, Euro Relais and Casamundo companies and a 2011 turnover of almost €200 million, according to an official release.

“We want to be present in all the major European markets. Via this acquisition we will be able to give both UK property owners and UK holidaymakers access to our European wide platforms,” said @Leisure chairman Maarten Esser.

The @Leisure-Group engages in a variety of online activities that include acting as a 'tour operator', reseller (aggregator) and online marketplace (enabler).

In July last year, @Leisure decided to manage its brands with a portal/aggregator function from its office in Hamburg. This included the Euro Relais brand, among others. The i-Rent brand, the direct rental module within the holding company, was to be managed from the new office in Amsterdam. The Eindhoven office was chosen to continue to operate as a ‘tour operator' for the Belvilla, Ardennes Relais and other brands under the direction of CEO Hedwig Wassing.