AN engineering firm dating back more than 200 years was snapped up for £700m yesterday by the Dubai-based owner of Madame Tussauds.

Doncasters, which employs about 2,900 staff at 13 UK sites, including 200 people in Billingham, Teesside, was bought from the Royal Bank of Scotland by Dubai International Capital (DIC), an investment firm controlled by the government of Dubai.

The deal for the maker of engine turbine blades is the latest in a wave of Middle East takeovers in the UK, coming a month after another Dubai-based firm agreed to buy ports group P&O. DIC acquired Tussauds Group, including Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures, for £800m earlier this year.