Pinsent Masons has strengthened its Hong Kong office with the hire of Allen & Overy (A&O) project finance consultant Simon Irvine as a partner. Irvine, who joins from A&O's Singapore arm, acts for sponsors and lenders on project finance transactions in the power, petrochemicals and oil and gas sectors. His addition means 250-partner Pinsents now has 12 partners in the Asia-Pacific region.