International firm Clyde & Co is to establish a presence in Scotland through a merger with prominent national practice Simpson & Marwick.

The merged firm will be known as Clyde & Co under the deal, which comes into effect on 1 October.

Clyde & Co senior partner James Burns (pictured) said the ‘client-focused’ merger positioned it as the ‘leading insurance sector firm on both sides of the border’.

Simpson & Marwick, which was founded in 1886, has eight offices, including one in London and five in Scotland.

Managing partner Gordon Keyden said staff were proud of its history but that clients ‘increasingly want consolidated expertise across England and Scotland’.

Clyde & Co's revenues grew 9% to £365m in 2013/14, with profits up 11% compared with the previous year.

The firm, which has 1,500 lawyers across 40 offices, attributed growth to a strong performance in its UK business where revenue at its insurance practices rose 15%, and was up 17% in its corporate and transactional practices.

A host of venerable Scottish law firm names have vanished in recent years through merger with larger English firms, including Biggart Baillie, McGrigors and Dundas & Wilson. Two more, Tods Murray and (earlier this month) McClure Naismith, have fallen into administration.