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Building momentum: Dentons boosts City corporate team again with Nabarro hire

The ever-growing Dentons has made its fifth London corporate hire in less than 12 months, bringing in partner Jonathan Cantor from Nabarro.

Cantor (pictured) joins from Nabarro with 17 years’ experience working on corporate transactions. He was made partner in 2007, specialising in real estate indirect investment and funds, as well as advising on sovereign wealth funds and co-investment structures.

He has previously worked on domestic and international corporate real estate acquisitions, fund investments and joint ventures. He advised Brockton Capital on its joint venture, Urban Market Company, which purchased Camden Lock Market in 2012. He also advised the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia on funds and indirect investment during the £181m purchase of 40 Portman Square in 2010.

Dentons UK head of corporate David Collins said Cantor’s arrival would ‘boost our long-term sector strategy for the real estate sector and for the strategic growth of our corporate practice’.

Cantor is the latest arrival to the Dentons corporate team, the fifth to join since September 2015.

Cantor’s arrival comes after Collins joined the firm from Berwin Leighton Paisner in January as head of corporate and co-chair of global M&A, with further hires including Stephen Levy from Pinsent Masons, Nikolas Colbridge from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Martin Mankabady from Clyde & Co.

The hiring spree comes after a year of mergers made Dentons the largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount, including high profile tie-ups with Chinese law firm Dacheng and US-based McKenna Long.

Dentons UKMEA chief executive Jeremy Cohen said: ‘We have made several key lateral hires over the last few months and Jonathan’s arrival builds on this momentum as we continue to strengthen our corporate platform and brand in the market and take advantage of new opportunities for multi-jurisdictional M&A and investment arising from the firm’s international expansion.’

The firm praised growth in its corporate practice last week when it posted a 7% turnover rise for its UK, Middle East and Africa offices for financial year 2015/16 to £165m.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk