Bond Pearce, the south-west England law firm, has outlined ambitious plans for growth north of the border following the poaching of a seven-strong team of energy lawyers from Scottish firm McGrigors in July.

Bond Pearce, the south-west England law firm, has outlined ambitious plans for growth north of the border following the poaching of a seven-strong team of energy lawyers from Scottish firm McGrigors in July.

"We're aiming to build a team of 12 to 15 lawyers in Aberdeen," said Luke Gabb, head of energy at Bond Pearce, which was founded in Plymouth in 1890.

He said the firm intends to focus on "oil and gas and the emerging renewables market" in the Granite City, which is seen as Europe's leading centre for the oil and gas industry. Bond Pearce has a turnover of £43.5m and employs 720 people.

Gabb said that the firm will later this week sign a lease on new premises in Aberdeen's central business district and added that it has also recently hired another McGrigors staff member - an assistant solicitor - who starts at the new Aberdeen office at the end of October.

Bond Pearce stormed into the Scottish market when it poached the team of seven energy lawyers who had been at McGrigors for just over a year.

The team comprised Clare Munro, Kenny Paton and Finlay Crossan (who are based in Aberdeen), and Paul McGoldrick, Jane Chester, Sandy Shaw and John McSparran (who are based in London). The team joined McGrigors in April 2006 but previously worked at Aberdeen-based Ledingham Chalmers.

The manoeuvre has given Bond Pearce a substantial Scottish presence and means the firm has become the sixth English firm to make inroads into the Scottish legal market. Others that have done so are DLA Piper, Pinsent Masons, CMS Cameron McKenna, Gateley Wareing and Irwin Mitchell.

The move follows three consecutive years of disappointing financial results at Bond Pearce, where average profits per equity partner have fallen by 17% since 2003. Equity partner profits have fallen from £180,000 in 2005-06 to £150,000 during 2006-07.

However, the firm hopes to address this through the introduction of the "modified lockstep" remuneration system this year.

Commenting on the septet's reason for leaving McGrigors, Gabb said: "I get the impression they were disenchanted and felt they had lost some of their independence.

"I believe they were attracted to us because we are totally focused on energy work."

Paul Stockley, a partner in Bond Pearce's energy practice, said: "This gives us a fantastic platform for future growth both in the UK continental shelf and internationally."

Gabb said that Bond Pearce also has a small office in Edinburgh, where it counts ScottishPower among its clients. "We wanted to be near to the Holyrood parliament." Its other main offices are in London, Bristol, Southampton, Plymouth and Exeter.