Beachcroft is set to launch its first office in Asia, with the opening of a base in Singapore.

City insurance partner Ben Nicholson is relocating to Singapore to lead the office, which will open in February and will advise clients on complex and high value commercial disputes, with a particular focus on insurers and reinsurers. The office will formally launch in May.

The Singapore venture will mark Beachcroft's first presence in Asia, adding to its existing international offices in Brussels, Dublin and Auckland. The firm also has a joint venture in India with local outfit Khaitan Jayakar Sud & Vohra.

Beachcroft managing partner Paul Murray said: "With an office already in Auckland, we felt that we needed a presence in Asia to enhance our coverage of the region.

"We do a significant amount of international insurance work and felt that our clients would benefit from us establishing a broader international platform. International expansion is very much at the forefront of our strategy for 2011 and I think we will be carefully looking at Australia over the coming months."

The launch comes after Beachcroft's merger with UK insurance boutique Williams Holden Cooklin Gibbons, announced in March 2010, which gifted Beachcroft an office in New Zealand.

While Beachcroft will not practise local law in its Singapore outfit, Nicholson will be responsible for developing relationships with local law firms in the region.