Clyde & Co has grown its Middle East practice with the hire of Trowers & Hamlins' former Abu Dhabi head Adrian Creed.

Creed, a project finance lawyer, joined the firm last month, taking the total number of partners in Clydes' local office to five.

Creed's practice focuses on energy and utilities and infrastructure, including oil & gas, petrochemicals, renewables, ports, airports and social infrastructure.

The news comes after a turbulent period for Trowers' Middle East operations, with the firm opting to close its Jeddah office in May last year, just one year after it opened.

Creed said: "Clydes has always been one of the market leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and I was attracted to join a firm that continues to grow rapidly and is continuing to strengthen and further develop its regional footprint.

"My core focus will be project advisory work in the firm's established office locations, but a significant amount of my time will also be spent on the development of a projects practice in the emerging MENA markets, the Indian subcontinent and Africa."

Creed was head of Trowers' Abu Dhabi office between 1995 and 2002 before returning to the firm's London office. He then moved back to the region in 2009 to lead the firm's operations in Syria, Libya and Jordan.

The move marks the third hire in the region for Clydes in recent months, with corporate lawyer Jason Majid joining the firm's Qatar office from Simmons & Simmons in November last year, while banking and finance partner Adrian Low joined Clydes Dubai office from DLA Piper in October.