Berrymans Lace Mawer is merging with Scottish firm HBM Sayers to create BLM, a £100m business with 170 partners.

The combination will go live on 1 May 2014, creating a firm with 12 offices across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The merged firm will have a total of 1,550 employees, including 630 lawyers.

Both firms are heavily insurance-based, with a strong presence in the London broker market. The combined firm will have nine major common clients and will focus on the public sector and the healthcare industry.

Berrymans senior partner Mike Brown said: "We're excited about helping our clients to save time and money reducing risk, resolving disputes and managing claims. As BLM we will be able to do that across more lines of business and in more locations for more clients. The combination will give us a competitive edge at a time when Scotland's legal market is changing, presenting our business with significant opportunities."

Berrymans posted a 4% increase in revenue for 2012-13 while the firm saw profits per equity partner (PEP) dip by 13% to £215,000.

At the time the firm attributed some of the decline in profits to its new Dublin office, which was launched in October 2012.

Last year Berrymans opened its second base in the City led by newly elected London senior partner Jennette Newman. The office is be made up of 13 partners with expertise in casualty, construction, occupational disease, regulatory, professional indemnity, product liability, property insurance and recovery.