MADRID, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Spanish investment bank Alantra is launching an office in Dubai as it seeks to expand its international client network and win more business from corporates and high net worth individuals in the Gulf region.

Alantra said it had hired Saad Ashraf from London-based advisory firm StormHarbour as a managing partner to lead a team of four bankers based in Dubai.

The move comes as other European investment banks, including France's Natixis https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-natixis-idUSL4N2DD048 , have been beefing up their presence in the Gulf where oil companies and governments seek to attract foreign capital and diversify revenues.

Dealmaking was up 60% in the Gulf in 2021 amid a global M&A boom which last year topped $5 trillion for the first time ever.

Alantra, which specialises in mid-market transactions and advised on M&A deals worth more than 60 billion euros ($67.44 billion) in the last three years, aims to give "mid-market clients a highly specialised service with a truly global reach", said Miguel Hernandez, Chief Executive of Alantra's investment banking division.

The Madrid-based bank was established in 2001 and ranks as Spain's sixth largest investment bank for deals below $500 million, based on Refinitiv league table data.

In 2018, Alantra opened an office in Shanghai which delivered 16 advisory mandates last year - a performance that is hoping to replicate in Dubai, an Alantra spokesperson said.

The bank employs more than 550 people globally and is active across Europe as well as in the United States. ($1 = 0.8897 euros) (Reporting by Andres Gonzalez, editing by Pamela Barbaglia and Jane Merriman)