Thomas Eggar and Pritchard Englefield to merge on 1 May

Top 100 full-service firm Thomas Eggar has announced a merger with City firm Pritchard Englefield, which will take effect on 1 May.

The merged firm, which will have a combined turnover of £42m, will be known as Thomas Eggar, with the words 'incorporating Pritchard Englefield' added to the name in the London office.

A spokesman for Thomas Eggar said the firm had been "clear for some time about its intention to strengthen its London office as a part of its strategy to develop specialist teams and to give greater access to an international client base.

"Over the last year, Thomas Eggar has made a number of high profile lateral hires into its London office to develop an impressive international tax team.

"Pritchard Englefield is a long-established commercial law firm, which is highly-regarded both for its international and domestic work, particularly advising on Anglo-German and Anglo-French trade, finance and commerce."

The spokesman said the merger would enable the firm to develop additional specialist teams, including financial services

Vicky Brackett, managing partner of Thomas Eggar, said: "The culture and values of the firms are strongly aligned, the teams are technically excellent and the client base of both firms is very complementary.

"It is a merger which moves Thomas Eggar forward and gives us the base from which to further focus our offering to the market."

Ros Ashby, managing partner of Pritchard Englefield said the firm had been looking for opportunities to grow for a number of years.

"We strongly believe this merger is the best way to enable us to deliver an even better offering to our UK and international clients."

Thomas Eggar, well known for its private client work, employs over 500 people in the south of England.