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Davis Polk & Wardwell has bolstered its London offering with the hire of rival firm Sidley Austin's London restructuring heads.

Mark Knight and Jifree Cader are set to join Davis Polk's growing London office to launch a European restructuring practice, Davis Polk confirmed Monday.

Both Cader and Knight, who spent time at Kirkland & Ellis before joining Sidley, have most recently held positions as London co-heads of Sidley's restructuring group.

Cader has been at Sidley since 2016, having joined directly from Kirkland, according to LinkedIn. Knight joined Sidley in 2019 after a stint as general counsel at distress platform Pillarstone.

Since joining Sidley, the duo has handled a number of high-profile restructuring matters, including advising the Australian company set to save failed British battery maker Britishvolt.

“I am pleased to welcome Jifree and Mark to Davis Polk to launch our European restructuring practice. They have an impressive track record of successfully leading complex restructurings, and their practice complements the market-leading work of our distinguished restructuring team in the U.S.,” said Neil Barr, Davis Polk’s managing partner, in a statement. “Europe is an increasingly important area of focus for our restructuring clients. As we continue to build out our corporate practice in London, including through the exciting growth we have seen in leveraged finance and private equity already this year, adding top-tier restructuring capabilities is a natural next step.”

Davis Polk has been steadily growing its London office. The firm recently announced it had relocated to a new upsized London home, a stone's throw away from Bank station.

Over the last 12 months, the firm has been strengthening its London bench with high-profile hires.

Luke McDougall, who was global co-head of Paul Hastings' finance practice, decamped for Davis Polk in May.

In August, Davis Polk added Gordon Milne, a private equity partner from A&O Shearman.

Sidley, however, has also been making high-profile hires of its own. In the last couple months, the firm has welcomed seven partners from rival U.S. outfit Latham & Watkins, including a five-partner team led by leverage finance partners Jayanthi Sadanandan and Sam Hamilton.

Sidley did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.