Simpson Thacher & Bartlett London corporate partner Alvaro Membrillera is set to join Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison's City base, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The move marks a rare London hire for Paul Weiss, which launched in the City in 2001 with the relocation of US corporate partners Mark Bergman and David Lakhdhir.

Bergman – who heads the firm's global securities and capital markets group – and Lakhdhir remain the only two partners in the London base, alongside four counsel and 15 associates.

Membrillera, who made partner at Simpson Thacher in 2011, specialises in advising private equity firms on corporate finance transactions. He regularly acts for underwriters on high yield debt offerings across Europe and Latin America.

In 2012, he advised US buyout giant KKR on its acquisition of UK oil and gas company Acteon for around £800m. He also advised Blackstone Group and N+1 Private Equity on their acquisition of Mivisa Envases, the largest manufacturer of tin cans in Spain, in 2013.

Paul Weiss recently announced a 10% revenue rise for 2016 to reach a new record high of $1.22bn (£984m), with profits per equity partner (PEP) rising 7% to $4.38m (£3.53m). Simpson Thacher is also among the most profitable US Big Law firms, with 2015 PEP of $3.47m (£2.8m).

Paul Weiss and Simpson Thacher did not respond to requests for comment.

A year ago this month, Paul Weiss stunned the Wall Street world by bringing on Cravath Swaine & Moore partner Scott Barshay in New York. That move brought Paul Weiss several new clients, and was followed by the hire of long-serving Ropes & Gray intellectual property litigation partner Steven Baughman in Washington DC.