Slaughter and May has bagged a private equity mandate, acting for Fortress Investment Group on the £338.3m acquisition of U.K. cafe-bar restaurant chain, Loungers.

Despite the strength of Slaughter and May's M&A practice, its move into private equity has been slow off the mark. A previous mandate from the U.S. investment group looked to position the firm as serious players in the space when it advised on a £6.3 billion cash offer for U.K. supermarket chain Morrisons, but the bid was unsuccessful.