TLT creates UK-wide practice

National firm TLT has announced plans to launch operations in Scotland and Northern Ireland to create a UK-wide practice.

The firm has merged with Scottish practice Anderson Fyfe to create TLT Scotland, with the deal expected to be confirmed on 1 July.

The 45 staff members at Anderson Fyfe, including eight partners, will be retained after the merger is finalised, as will offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh. TLT will also launch a separate practice in Belfast, where a team of five solicitors and paralegals will provide litigation services to existing financial services clients.

Managing partner David Pester said that demand from those clients for a 'one-firm approach for all jurisdictions' persuaded him to move into Scotland and Northern Ireland.

He said: 'Combining the strengths and resources of Anderson Fyfe and TLT, and establishing operations in Northern Ireland, will extend our national presence, strengthen our relationships with many of our strategic clients, and help us win new business and grow market share.'

Anderson Fyfe's managing partner Tom McEntagart added: 'This is not growth for growth's sake it is about achieving a level of scale whereby we can continue to compete successfully in the market.'

The expansion signals another step in TLT's growth since being founded as a result of a merger of two Bristol firms in 2000. The new firm will have a combined forecast turnover of £48m, with 80 partners and 750 employees.

It is the second Anglo-Scottish merger in 2012, following the link-up between Pinsent Masons and McGrigors.