Real Estate PE Partners in High Demand Across London
A recent Legal Business article by Kate Peacock examines the significant surge in lateral movement among real estate private equity and real estate finance partners in London — with around 20 partners having switched firms over the past 18 months.
The piece maps how firms including Latham & Watkins, Hogan Lovells, Mayer Brown, Freshfields, and Fried Frank have been competing for a limited pool of talent with the rare skillset that bridges real estate and private equity. As Fried Frank's David Evans observes in the piece, the real estate-PE cadre is like "football managers" — there are only so many who can credibly do the job.
Macrae London's Siobhán Lewington, co-office managing partner, comments in the article:
"We have seen more interest from US law firms in investing in partners focusing on 'real assets' in London. There has been an increase in lateral partner movement in this area over the last six months and it's driven by firms wanting to provide real estate capability for their private equity clients."
The article also explores how demand extends beyond private equity, with partners noting that active investment markets across Europe are driving a genuinely global trend in lateral activity.
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