Trowers & Hamlins has relocated the head of its telecoms practice from Bahrain to Dubai to take up the new role of United Arab Emirates (UAE) managing partner.

Abdullah Mutawi (pictured) has already assumed the new role, which will see him work closely with the firm's regional heads Nick White in Dubai and Andrew Rae in Abu Dhabi. The firm's Bahrain base will continue to be led by Dominic O'Neil.

Trowers said that the relocation will add to its corporate offering in the UAE, which focuses on cross-border M&A, capital markets and securities transactions for clients including the Central Bank of Bahrain, Vodafone, Orange, Bloomberg and Cable & Wireless.

Commenting on the relocation, Trowers head of international Martin Amison said: "We have always been proud of our longstanding presence in the Middle East and our Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices continue to perform well in trying economic times.

"Expanding our corporate finance capabilities in the UAE is a key part of our strategy going forward particularly as we have started to see significant deals coming to the market. Abdullah is the perfect man to lead this. He is a corporate heavyweight with a great reputation and has built a significant client base in the region."

Amison added that the UAE managing partner role had been created to ensure "closer integration" of the firm's regional offices.

Mutawi commented: "Investor confidence and deal flows are on the increase, making this an exciting time to add to our offering in the region."

Trowers' Middle East practice counts UAE offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, while outside the UAE it also has bases in Bahrain, Cairo and Oman. The firm has one remaining Saudi Arabia base in Riyadh after opting to close its operations in Jeddah earlier this year just one year after it opened.