Ashurst has boosted its debt capital markets practice with the appointment of former Linklaters partner Stephen Edlmann.

Edlmann (pictured), who will join the top 10 City firm's London office next Monday (1 November) as a consultant, held several senior management roles at Linklaters, including head of international finance and co-head of equity capital markets.

His hire is the first by Chris Georgiou, who recently took over as head of Ashurst's securities and structured finance practice after Erica Handling left to join Barclays Capital as Europe, Middle East & Africa general counsel.

Commenting on the appointment, Georgiou said: "Edlmann will add depth and weight to our debt capital markets practice – he is truly steeped in the industry. He has worked on several high-profile deals including RBS' capital raising in 2008."

He added: "His appointment reflects current market conditions as well as the significant pipeline of maturing debt requiring refinancing. In addition to standalone issuances, bond issues remain a key feature of larger leveraged financing structures and restructurings."

Edlmann has spent his entire career with Linklaters, stepping down from the partnership last year to take up a consultancy role with the firm. During his time as a consultant he worked on a client relationship review for the firm, which saw former partners gauging how well the firm was managing its dealings with clients.