Willkie Farr & Gallagher has snared Kirkland & Ellis private equity partners Matthew Dean and Claire McDaid  as the firm makes its long-expected push in the London leveraged buyout market.

Dean, whose recent clients include Bain Capital, Summit Partners, CapVest, MezzVest and HIG Capital, is New York qualified, and focuses mainly on fund formations, leveraged buyouts, financings and venture capital investments.

McDaid, who focuses on cross-border private equity and investment transactions, has worked for clients including Sun Capital, Vista Equity Partners and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Willkie London managing partner Peter Burrell said the duo will complement the firm's existing private equity offering in continental Europe and New York.

Since 2008, Willkie has had a formal alliance with Dickson Minto to strengthen its City private equity practice practice. These latest hires are a further indication that Willkie has ambitions in the UK private equity market beyond this arrangement.

In March, Legal Week reported that Wilkie was considering a move into private equity work in London, and had held recruitment discussion with at least one high-profile UK-qualified private equity partner.

In a statement, Willkie global co-chairman Thomas Cerabino said: "We value our relationship with Dickson Minto and expect to continue to work closely with them in the future."