Wall Street leader Debevoise & Plimpton has boosted its City corporate practice with the hire of Travers Smith private equity partner David Innes.

Innes (pictured), who has been a partner at Travers since 2000, specialises in private equity and M&A, and has worked on several high-profile transactions including Bridgepoint Capital's £955m sale of Pets at Home, the £6.15bn merger of Saga and AA, as well as 3i's acquisition of retailer Agent Provocateur.

Debevoise currently has 18 partners in its UK base, 13 of whom are UK-qualified, with the firm currently generating UK revenues approaching £50m.

Debevoise presiding partner Martin Frederic Evans commented: "In the years ahead, we expect David will play a leading role in the growth of our private equity M&A practice and help expand our presence in the London market."

London managing partner James Scoville added: "Private equity is one of our core areas in London, and bringing someone of David's calibre into the firm will further enhance our practice. In building our platform in London, we have sought to team up leading UK and US qualified partners, and David's presence will add depth to this important practice area."

Innes said: "I have had 10 fulfilling years at Travers Smith but the opportunity to join Debevoise and to help expand and develop its London private equity practice, as part of its global platform, was too good to miss."

The 700-lawyer Debevoise has acted alongside Travers Smith on several high-profile buyouts, including the £400m purchase of British Car Auctions by private equity house Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), with Debevoise advising CD&R and Travers acting for British Car Auctions.

For more, see Tried and trusted focus reaps rewards for Travers.