Weil Gotshal & Manges has won buyout houses Unitas and Towerbrook Capital as new clients for the firm's City office.

The client wins came as a result of competitive tender processes, with private equity partner Marco Compagnoni leading the team advising on both subsequent transactions.

Compagnoni (pictured) advised Asian buyout house Unitas alongside London finance chief Jacky Kelly on its €525m (£441m) acquisition of hydraulics manufacturer Hyva from UK private equity firm 3i, a deal which was announced before Christmas.

The other deal saw Compagnoni close UK buyout house Towerbrook Capital's acquisition of UK retailer Phase 8 from its chairman Michael Rahamim earlier this month in a deal worth more than £80m.

Towerbrook has previously instructed firms including Allen & Overy and Kirkland & Ellis.

The client wins come as Weil Gotshal's London private equity practice enjoys an uptick in activity levels, with the firm advising on matters including longstanding client Advent International's £925m acquisition of the Priory Group from the Royal Bank of Scotland last month, and HgCapital portfolio company SHL's merger with PreVisor, a deal led by corporate partner Ian Hamilton.

The firm is also advising the Barclay brothers on their purchase of Cypriot company Misland, which owns approximately 25% of Coroin Limited, the parent company of hotels including The Berkeley and Claridge's.

Compagnoni commented: "These deals are a reflection of our existing clients' position in the market and our relationships with them. The current market has strengthened the hand of successful private equity firms with available resources, such as Advent, Towerbrook and Unitas. The private equity market is an increasingly attractive alternative for sellers, investors and businesses."