Garrigues has appointed a new London managing partner to succeed the outgoing Guillermo Munoz-Alonso.

Ignacio Corbera Dale has been appointed to the role, effective 1 February, and has relocated to London from the firm's Barcelona office.

The appointment has been made following the end of Munoz-Alonso's three-year term as London chief. He is set to relocate back to Garrigues' headquarters in Madrid this month.

Corbera Dale has been at Garrigues since 1990 and a partner at the firm for the last five years. He specialises in M&A, corporate and contract law.

He said: "London represents a great opportunity for me now, after my 20-year career as a corporate lawyer in Barcelona, where I mainly advised big multinationals.

"I expect to continue the excellent work carried out by my predecessors in the London office. My goal is to become a reference for Iberian clients in the UK and British clients in Spain and Portugal."

Munoz-Alonso has been head of the London office since it launched in December 2007. He took up the role shortly after he was made up to partner in September that same year.

The London office currently has two resident lawyers with a focus on corporate work.

The news follows the appointment of corporate partner Ferran Escayola to head up the firm's New York office in place of Xavier Ruiz announced in December 2010.