Accountancy giant EY has secured approval from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to provide legal services in England and Wales as an alternative business structure (ABS).

Steve Varley, EY's UK chairman and regional managing partner in the UK and Ireland, said that the accountant was not "competing with the business models of traditional law firms" and would be "offering something new" in the legal market.

The firm hopes that by having lawyers, accountants and other professional advisers working side by side it can offer advantages over more established legal service providers.

The firm's legal arm has appointed three UK partners this year while awaiting license approval: Former Berwin Leighton Paisner finance chief Matthew Kellett (pictured), who is leading the financial services team; former Olswang employment group head Daniel Aherne, who will lead the employment law team; and Philip Goodstone, who joined from Addleshaw Goddard and will head up all other services at EY.

EY said it plans to recruit a further 30 people, at both partner and more junior levals, in the next six months.

"While we are still in the recruitment phase, we have already received strong levels of interest from a number of clients," said Goodstone. "Our priority is now to grow the team to ensure that we are able to meet this demand."

The firm is also hoping to expand its legal offering to Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Korea and Indonesia after incorporating local Chinese firm Chen & Co into its network in January.

ABS licences, first introduced in 2012 under the Legal Services Act, allow companies to run their own legal arms while also making it possible for law firms to accept external investment and be owned by non-lawyers.