Taylor Wessing has pushed ahead of City rival Olswang to land a lead role on the £622m property acquisition of some of the UK's most famous tourist attractions, including Alton Towers and Madame Tussauds.

The City law firm advised property company Prestbury, which will rent the properties back under a 35-year lease. Taylor Wessing corporate partner Jayne Schnider advised the property company, which is owned by entrepreneur Nick Leslau.

The deal will come as a blow to Olswang, which has built a strong relationship with the property group. Although both firms are on the company's panel, Olswang has landed the lead roles on many of Prestbury's most high-profile deals in recent years.

These included the creation of a £475m investment fund in August last year – the same fund that was used to finance this transaction – and the £57.5m sale of 55 Old Broad Street, London, in 2005. Other advisers to the company include SJ Berwin.

On the latest transaction, Prestbury has agreed a sale and leaseback deal with Merlin Entertainments Group, which owns the list of attractions, including Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle. Ashurst corporate partners Charlie Geffen and Gavin Gordon are advising Merlin – the world's second largest theme park operator after Disney – and its private equity owner Blackstone.

The deal comes just months after Blackstone acquired the Tussauds Group from Dubai International Capital (DIC) in a £1bn deal. Ashurst was also instructed by Blackstone on that occasion, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advising regular clients DIC.