Reed Smith has added to its fledgling private equity real estate (PERE) practice in London with the hire of two partners from Allen & Overy (A&O) and Linklaters.

Robert Porter, formerly of A&O advises PERE firms, sovereign funds, property companies and financial institutions, has already joined Reed Smith, while Luke Mines is set to join in early 2015 from Linklaters, where he was a senior associate in the firm's corporate real estate group.

Reed Smith launched its PERE practice in 2009 with the hire of sector head Oliver s'Jacob from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Earlier this year, Reed Smith hired Pinsent Masons partner Matthew Heaton and A&O senior associate Francisca Sepulveda, whose clients include many PERE firms, as real estate finance partners.

The firm says it plans to continue grow the practice at all levels, as its looks to cash in on investors chasing yield in harder assets like property.

"In the summer of 2012 the market went from about zero up into the stratosphere very quickly," said PERE head s'Jacob. "But it's taken us a long time to find the best people to boost the team. We have found the right two partners now to give us the building blocks, but we aren't stopping here. This is just the start."

Porter pointed to s'Jacob's existing client base and successful transactions across real estate, M&A, funds and equity financing as a compelling reason to make the move from A&O.

Porter said: "There are not that many people who understand the PERE sector and who have our combination of expertise and experience."

Reed Smith's team has advised on a number of significant PERE transactions closed in the last quarter including acting for Oaktree Capital Management and Patrizia on their acquisition of three of property investment business MEPC's business parks for £430m from Hermes Real Estate, and advising Marathon Asset Management on its £130m acquisition of 11 former Queens Moat Houses hotels.