Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is looking to double headcount in its newly opened Manchester low-cost centre over the next 12 months.

Meeting the target for the base, which opened last August, will take staff numbers from around 50 at present to 100 by the end of the 2014-15 financial year.

The office had just four qualified lawyers when it launched.

Richard Sawtell, head of BLP's Manchester office, confirmed he was targeting doubling the firm's headcount in the city.

He said: "If you talk about Manchester you have to talk about the talent pool. It's not just Manchester, it's this emerging northern hub that has a great pool to fish in."

BLP also plans to introduce apprenticeships for the office, but Sawtell said it was "too early to say" how many will arrive and over what timescale.

Sawtell added that all of the original hires for the office came from the local market, but that he does not anticipate a price war for talent in light of impending new entrants into the city such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham & Watkins.

"This northern hub is much bigger than most people imagine and its ability to absorb that competition is greater than many people imagine," he said.

After the Manchester office opened, BLP went on to trial its Lawyers on Demand (LoD) service in the city.

For more on developments in the Manchester legal market, see Legal Week's feature later this week.