Landwell's former Dutch arm seals Van Doorne merger

Landwell's former Dutch firm has sealed a merger with independent Netherlands firm Van Doorne.

Landwell will jettison two of its three Dutch offices, concentrating its activities in Amsterdam. It is unclear what will happen to lawyers based outside the Dutch capital.

Van Doorne's London, Curacao and Aruba offices will be unaffected.

The newly merged firm will operate under the name of Van Doorne from January 2004.

Landwell in the Netherlands announced last month that it would end its membership of the PricewatehouseCoopers' tied group. Earlier in the year, the firm closed two of its five offices.

Landwell partner Johan Boeren said: "Following the SEC guidelines in the USA impacting accounting firms, we were already in the process of repositioning ourselves as an indpendent office. At the same time, together with Van Doorne, we want to fulfil our ambition of a strong position in the Dutch market."