Pinsent Masons has bolstered its Manchester banking and finance practice with the hire of Matthew Morgan from DLA Piper.

Morgan joined Pinsents this week (4 January) to lead the national firm's banking team in Manchester.

He left DLA Piper in December after five years as a partner with the firm working with financial institutions including RBS, Barclays and HSBC. He advised on deals including the £817m public-to-private of Matalan and the renegotiation of banking facilities for automotive group Lookers.

Pinsents did not previously have a local head of banking and finance in Manchester, with overall practice head John Cleland and partner Matthew Heaton jointly running the team.

Cleland said: "Matt is consistently rated by clients as someone who delivers terrific, efficient work, underpinned by a high level of technical skill. This level of ability, along with his deep relationships with both institutional and corporate clients, will be key to our ambitions to grow our banking and finance business both in the North West and nationwide."

Pinsents' appointment of Morgan is the firm's second hire from DLA Piper in recent weeks, with the firm in December naming Lenka Glynn as its Middle East head of outsourcing, technology and commercial. Glynn, who was due to join Pinsents as a partner this month, was previously a legal director with DLA Piper in Dubai.