Simmons & Simmons has confirmed that it is making a number of lawyer redundancies in its London real estate practice.

It is understood that the firm has laid off fewer than ten lawyers in its real estate practice, with some of those affected also working cross-practice in finance.

The move was driven in part by the expected impact of Brexit on London's real estate sector, as investors pull money out of commercial property.

Overall, City retail funds were hit by a net £3.5bn withdrawal during the referendum month, according to data from the Investment Association released on Tuesday  (2 August).

Simmons recently posted a 10% drop in profit per equity partner for the 2015-16 to £585,000, with revenue edging up 1.7% to £295.1m, and net profit slipping 6.2%.

A number of major law firms made job cuts earlier this year, including DLA Piper, Dentons and Norton Rose Fulbright, following moves to open business support centres in lower cost jurisdictions.

DLA Piper is cutting up to 200 support jobs in the UK, with a raft of jobs moved to its business services centre in Warsaw, while Dentons is set to cut approximately 50 roles ahead of the launch of a base in the Polish capital. Norton Rose Fulbright, meanwhile, is moving nearly 60 London support jobs to Manila in the Philippines.

A Legal Week survey this June found that 57% of partners expect to see lawyer job cuts at major UK firms during the coming year, and the result of the Brexit vote has brought this issue into stark focus, amid fears over a sustained market slowdown.

Simmons also made redundancies in 2012, when the firm cut lawyers and support staff in its Middle East offices.