Sussex-based translation and interpreting company Tongue Tied has doubled in size with the acquisition of a rival business.

The purchase of technical translation specialists UK TechTrans comes ten years after Tongue Tied was launched and represents a change in the company's approach to growing its business.

Previously, Tongue Tied has relied on franchising its service. It has seven regional offices in the UK and offices in the United States, making it one of the largest UK-based companies in its sector.

Founder John Shouler, who works at the head office in Hove, said the firm would continue to look to franchising for future expansion but the acquisition of UK Techtrans was too good an opportunity to miss.

He said: "TechTrans clients dovetail well with our own and have a good reputation for quality and adherence to deadlines. We have retained all the translators who have worked on TechTrans projects."

The expansion lifts Tongue Tied's client base to more than 500 companies, including BUPA, JCB, Quaker Oats and the travel giant Thomas Cook.

Its services are used in most industry sectors, from technical documents to pop magazines. The company also provided translation of the web pages for last year's Miss World contest and is printing details of each leg of the Volvo Round The World yacht race in two languages.

It employs more than 3,000 translators worldwide, provides desktop publishing and typesetting of every language in the world and has a division offering conference management services.