Ashurst has secured a boost for its energy team with the hire of Centrica Energy & Europe general counsel Peter Roberts.

Roberts (pictured) will join the City firm's global energy team, which is headed up by Geoffrey Picton-Turbervill.

Prior to joining Centrica in 2007, Roberts led Jones Day's oil and gas practice, having also formerly worked in-house at oil giant Exxon.

Picton-Turbervill said: "Peter has a great reputation and a very strong background in the industry. Our practice is wholly focused on industry so to get someone with deep knowledge of the area is a huge asset to us and is really part of our broader policy to invest in the energy sector."

Ashurst's energy practice houses 29 partners globally, 13 of which are based in London.

Roberts' move comes after Ashurst's energy team recruited Antony Skinner from Linklaters as a partner last September. Skinner, who was a counsel at Linklaters, focuses on thermal power and renewable projects.

The UK firm also recently added Shell's Judith Kim as a counsel in its Dubai office.

Ashurst has continued to make some significant hires despite the downturn, bringing in the likes of construction heavyweight Ann Minogue from Linklaters, Lee Doyle from RBS and restructuring partner Dan Hamilton from White & Case.

However, the firm has also seen its fair share of departures in recent times, including private equity partner Graeme Ward's exit last month to join the corporate practice at US firm Latham & Watkins.

For more on the renewable energy sector, see Legal Week's In Depth feature.