Clyde & Co has expanded its international presence with two new alliances in Zimbabwe and Singapore.

The firm set up a best friends relationship with Zimbabwe's Scanlen and Holderness in May this year, while at the same time establishing an association with Singapore law firm Clasis LLC.

Scanlen and Holderness is a 10-partner firm based in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare. The firm handles a variety of work including corporate, family, litigation and intellectual property.

Meanwhile, Clasis LLC was launched by Clydes in May with the hire of a number of local lawyers. The new firm was set up as a separate vehicle in order to comply with local Bar rules. Clydes has had its own office in Singapore since 1991.

Clydes senior partner Michael Payton said: "Our international ambitions have been clear with the amount of expansion we have carried out over recent years, and our new relationship in Zimbabwe is an example of an acorn we have planted from which we would hope an oak tree will grow. As far as concerns Singapore, an onshore capability is clearly useful in developing our world trade practice."

Clydes already has a footprint in Africa through a Tanzania joint venture with local firm Ako Law in Dar es Salaam, which the firm gained when it merged with Shadbolt last year.

Clydes is currently gearing up for its merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert to go live next week (1 November).

The firm has stated that will it continue with its pre-merger international plans, which include further growth in the US and South America, and is currently in discussions to set up a presence in Houston, adding to its existing US offices in San Francisco, New York and New Jersey.

In South America, Chile and Columbia have been identified as areas that the firm is looking to move into.

Clydes launched in Canada this year via a merger with local outfit Nicholl Paskell-Mede, handing it offices in Montreal and Toronto. The firm has also said that it is planning to expand into Calgary and Vancouver.