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Consultant Capita Symonds has established a new office in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

This is the multidisciplinary consultant's first office in the region.

It will focus on working with local consortia in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.

The move is part of Capita’s increased focus on growing the international side of its business. The firm has said it will announce several large commissions in the next 12 months.

Mike Wing has been appointed as regional director responsible for all operations and business development in the UAE and wider Middle East region.

He joins the firm from a Bahrain-based private investment company. Wing has held senior roles with both Ernst & Young and Hyder Consulting in the Middle East region.

Mark Blake, business development director, said: "As we all know the UK has experienced quite a significant downturn in certain sectors over the past 18 months. As a result, we’ve followed two courses of action – firstly to look at increasing our market share in sectors that are still active, such as education, but also to look at new markets, which has taken us internationally to the Middle East, North and West Africa, and China.

"We’ve spent a considerable amount of time getting to know the UAE market, clients and key individuals. The objective now is to leverage Mike’s contacts and the contacts we’ve already made to create some real alliances in the region."