US advisory firm Moelis has hired its first oil and gas banker in Europe, in a move that gives it on-the-ground coverage capability in the region just as takeover activity in that sector looks set to boom.

Christopher Shaw, who was a managing director in investment banking at Barclays, will join Moelis's London office in July, according to people familiar with the matter. He will be the advisory firm's first banker in Europe to specialise in oil and gas, working closely with its existing team in Houston.