Slaughter and May and Link-laters have advised on General Electric's (GE's) £465m sale of its UK life and pensions companies to Swiss Re.

Slaughters advised consumer products giant GE on the deal, which is expected to reach completion by the end of 2006 and sees reinsurance and financial services group Swiss Re take on the GE Life brand.

Slaughters corporate partner Oliver Wareham led on the deal, along with fellow corporate partner John Papanichola, tax partner Steve Edge and competition partner William Sibree.

Slaughters shares GE's work with a number of top UK firms. The company has a 37-member UK panel that includes magic circle rivals Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy.

Linklaters was brought in to advise Swiss Re, fielding a team under corporate partner Duncan Barber.

Swiss Re will acquire 400,000 policies with total assets of about £8bn. The portfolio is composed primarily of income retirement planning products and savings, and includes the National Mutual Fund acquired by GE Life in 2002.

The deal looks set to be the first of two Slaughters mandates from major clients in the space of a week. Last week, pub and restaurant chain operator Whitbread, a longstanding client of the firm, announced it had entered into formal talks to dispose of bar and restaurant chain TGI Fridays. The group has not named the buyer but the chain is expected to fetch £60m-£70m.