CMS has hired Herbert Smith Freehills equity capital markets head and former Linklaters partner Charles Howarth.

Howarth spent over 17 years at HSF, according to his LinkedIn profile, and was a partner at Linklaters for around a year prior to that.

While at HSF, he acted on a number of major deals. He led the firm's team advising property company Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate on its £1 billion initial public offering and listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2014, and was at the helm when HSF advised longstanding client Telefonica on its planned IPO of U.K. telecoms company O2 in 2016.

He also advised U.K. student accommodation company Unite Group when it targeted its rival Liberty Living Group in a £1.4 billion takeover last year.

In a statement, CMS co-head of corporate Iain Newman said: "We are expecting increased ECM activity over the coming months and it will be a privilege to have Charles on our team to take advantage of these opportunities."

A spokesperson for HSF said in a statement: "We can confirm that Charles Howarth is retiring from the partnership on 30 April 2020. We thank Charles for his contribution over the past 17 years and we wish him well."