Development and regeneration work in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics may be hogging the headlines, but advisers' current pipeline is as likely to be filled by the booming City market for lettings and property acquisitions.

Real estate lawyers are continuing to enjoy the spoils of a surge of investment in commercial property and, after several slow years, even the rental market has picked up, with many companies taking on extra space in prime locations.

Leading real estate departments are reporting that work has barely slowed for the summer, with June to August seeing a range of big transactions take place, from pub sales to hotel deals.

CMS Cameron McKenna real estate partner Nick Brown told Legal Week: "There has been a lot of building going on so there has been more letting. It has been much more active than a few years ago, although people are still sensibly cautious about overheads."

The summer's most high-profile deal, the £420m sale of London's Covent Garden in August, saw Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer act for the sellers, longstanding client Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and Henderson Global Investors. Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw represented the acquirer, Liberty International subsidiary Capital & Counties.

The sale underlines the surging valuations currently on offer for commercial property in the capital, with the acquirer reportedly paying nearly £100m more than the owners had originally sought. The prime 450,000 sq ft site comprises 31 properties, including Covent Garden Market.

Other deals to grab attention in August saw Addleshaw Goddard and Camerons landing roles on Admiral Taverns' £318m purchase of more than 700 pubs from Enterprise Inns. In the same month, Addleshaws also lined up alongside Clifford Chance (CC) and Freshfields to advise on the £675m acquisition of Travelodge by Dubai International Capital from Permira.

One sector to have seen particularly strong growth over the past six months is lettings and acquisitions of offices, especially in London, as the buoyant M&A market has translated into tangible office expansion in the Square Mile. Notably, buildings that had been empty for several years after relocations to Canary Wharf are now once again being filled.

Law firms themselves have also been generating real estate work as relocations and new leases for a range of firms throws work to rivals. Camerons advised Allen & Overy on its deal with Societe Generale to let 80,000 sq ft of its new Spitalfields office to the French bank. The magic circle firm last month signed a 15-year lease with the bank and has another 120,000 sq ft that it intends to sub-let to other companies. SocGen turned to CC for advice.

Slaughter and May real estate partner Jane Edwarde commented: "A couple of years ago there was excess supply, but now banks are more cautious and developments are built pre-let. The market has also picked up because the City has picked up – further office space has been filled in Canary Wharf and the Gherkin."

Rents have also risen after several static years, with rates in the City heading from around £30 per sq ft to the £40-£50 range. West End building 25 Hanover Square this year became the world's most expensive office space at £100 per sq ft. Forsters advised the freeholders. However, there are still some concerns that rises in rental prices do not match the increases in capital value and the soaring purchase prices.

This year has also seen the two biggest-ever single asset commercial property deals in the City – the £527m sale of Plantation Place in March and the £520m sale of CityPoint in January. The deals generated lead roles for CC, Jones Day, SJ Berwin and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

Addleshaws real estate head Michael Reevey commented: "There is growth in office [work] for the first time in several years and people are going into investments with enthusiasm. There is a lot of activity in London, but there still needs to be something to move it outside London."