Bird & Bird has announced that it is planning to open an office in Luxembourg and has applied to the national Bar for a licence.

The base will focus on intellectual property (IP) work particularly involving the Unified Patent Court (UPC), as well as servicing the firm's banking and finance clients based in the country.

Bird & Bird's chief executive officer, David Kerr, said: "Luxembourg is an important jurisdiction for the UPC and many of our IP clients, as well as for many of our financial services and tax clients, so opening an office there makes perfect sense for us."

However, the firm confirmed that it has no plans to practice Luxembourg law from the office.

The new base will bring its global office total to 28. The decision of the Bar is expected soon.

Luxembourg has seen an influx of international firms in recent years.

Simmons & Simmons became the most recent firm to open in the country when it launched in January with a newly hired team of five partners and eight associates led by Stephane Ober, founding partner of local firm Ober & Partners.

Other recent entrants to the market include Hogan Lovells and legacy SJ Berwin in 2013.

The opening of a Luxembourg office follows on from Bird & Bird's agreement to merge with its Australian ally, Truman Hoyle, last year.

In 2013-14 the firm reported a 4% fall in operating profit to €87.9m (£67.1m) on the back of a 10.9% rise in staff costs to €141.5m (£108.4m).