Italian firm Legance has announced it is launching in London early next year, marking its first move overseas.

The firm has recruited Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners corporate partner Marco Gubitosi to helm the new City branch, and will relocate a team of Italian lawyers to staff the new base.

Gubitosi will be supported by M&A corporate partner Bruno Bartocci and banking partner Andrea Giannelli, who will spend the first few months in London after the launch.

The office will mainly focus on corporate finance, banking and capital markets issues, advising clients on matters relating to Italian law.

Bartocci said: "We've been thinking about opening a London office for the last few months, but we recently made the final decision last week based on the belief that our firm is mature enough to expand our offering to our London clients.

"This way we can also be closer to the law firms based in London that we work with too. It is a very exciting prospect and we expect to attract more mandates with our new office."

Legance managing partner Giovanni Nardulli commented: "The new office will bring us closer to our clients at a time when we are seeing growing interest from international investors and an upswing in cross-border activity in which Italian companies are involved."

Legance was formed in 2007 when an 85-lawyer team, which included 17 partners, broke away from Gianni Origoni to launch the independent firm.

The move comes after two Continental European firms announced City openings earlier this year – German firm Luther announced the launch of a UK representative office in January, while Irish firm William Fry relaunched its London base in August.