Watson Farley & Williams is set to enter the Spanish market with the hire of a Lovells team in Madrid.

The firm has recruited banking and finance partner Joaquin Sales and energy-focused corporate counsel Maria Pilar Garcia to head up the new Madrid office. Both join as partners and bring along with them three associates from Lovells.

The new Madrid base is Watson Farley's 12th office, alongside London, New York, Paris, Hamburg, Munich, Rome, Milan, Athens, Piraeus, Singapore and Bangkok.