Beachcroft has added four new partners to its ranks with the acquisition of insurance boutique Williams Holden Cooklin Gibbons (WHCG).

The deal, which is due to complete on 4 May, will see Beachcroft take on the firm in its entirety, including London-based partners Hugh Williams, Andrew Cooklin, Richard Fisher, Karen Cargill and Alastair Cornforth as well as Auckland-based founding member Antony Holden.

Four of the partners will join the Beachcroft partnership, while two will join as consultants along with nine solicitors and eight support staff.

The acquisition, which will double the size of Beachcroft's London professional indemnity team, will also give the UK top 25 law firm a presence in New Zealand, where WHCG has an office in the nation's capital.

Beachcroft will also retain WHCG's other office in Lime Street, with the integration process set to begin in the next month.

Beachcroft senior partner Simon Hodson commented: "WHCG is attractive not only because of its expertise and reputation but because the majority of the practice is London-based professional indemnity litigation and aligns well with Beachcroft's existing client base."

He added: "It also gives us a presence in New Zealand and will help to build on our future international strategy."

Last year Beachcroft made its entrance into the Welsh legal market with the acquisition of defendant insurance business Kingslegal, while the firm also opened an office in Dublin in March 2009.