King & Spalding is targeting further London growth in practices including white-collar crime, corporate and energy, under the leadership of new City chief Thomas Sprange QC.

Sprange has taken over as London managing partner from corporate and projects partner Garry Pegg, who is returning to full-time fee earning.

Pegg co-led the US firm's City office from 2010 alongside John Keffer – who co-founded the UK base in 2003 – before taking over sole leadership in 2013, when Keffer relocated to Houston before leaving for General Electric.

Sprange moved to King & Spalding not long after Pegg's arrival from Hogan Lovells in 2010, joining from Steptoe & Johnson in 2011 to launch a City litigation practice for the firm.

Arbitration specialist Sprange, who was made a QC in 2015, told Legal Week that he wants to expand the firm's London offering to further complement its US practices.

"We want to grow in the practices in which we already have a strong US offering in, including the white-collar space. We're hoping to bring in teams of three to five lawyers in that practice, and in corporate as well.

"We've got a big energy practice in the US so we're looking at adding to our already strong London capabilities there too."

The London office made two lateral partner hires last year, with finance partner duo Mark Wesseldine and Fergus Wheeler joining from Ropes & Gray. The firm also brought in Financial Reporting Council executive counsel Gareth Rees QC as a partner in its special matters and investigations practice.

King & Spalding now has 24 partners and 24 other lawyers in London, out of a worldwide total of more than 1,000. The firm saw global revenues rise by 3.8% to $1.06bn in 2016, with the London office bringing in $42.6m (£30.6m).

Sprange also pinpoints cross-selling opportunities as an area of focus for the office, explaining: "A significant number of our City clients are based outside the UK, either in the US or emerging economies. They tend to provide a lot of opportunities in London that we haven't fully exploited yet.

"We want to emulate what the firm has done over the last eight years in London, which is to continue growing significantly and become an even more substantive contributor to the firm's growth."