DAC Beachcroft is set to recruit around 170 staff for its Birmingham and Newcastle offices, as the fast-growing firm also sets out plans for further international expansion in Asia and Latin America. 

The firm is taking on extra space in its Birmingham office from 1 December, which will allow it to house an additional 120 non-fee earning staff in its claims solutions group, with the new staff set to take total office headcount to 440. 

DAC Beachcroft also plans to recruit around 50 staff in Newcastle, including partner-led teams in health and insurance, who are expected to join once the firm moves to a new 11,300 sq ft office in spring 2013. 

The domestic expansion comes a year after Beachcroft merged with Davies Arnold Cooper, with the combined firm outlining ambitious plans for international growth.  

Managing partner Paul Murray said: "Our international expansion has made much of the headlines, but we have spent just as much time and effort building in the UK as we have overseas." 

Following the launch of DAC Beachcroft Chile last month, the firm hopes to further expand its South American footprint by merging with its Colombian alliance firm in the coming year. It is also looking for alliance firms in Thailand and Indonesia.

"We have been working with an insurance firm in Colombia for a number of years and we are now taking a long hard look at the possibility of forming a more exclusive arrangement over the next 12 months," said Murray.

Murray also confirmed that the firm has put plans to open in Hong Kong on hold and will instead concentrate on its Singapore practice, which opened last May.