Four of the five magic circle firms have secured substantial roles advising on the UK Government's £2.5bn disposal of a 25% share in utilities giant British Energy.

Clifford Chance (CC) is advising top corporate client British Energy led by corporate finance partners David Lewis and Alison Price, while Slaughter and May is advising the Government on the sale, led by corporate partners Charles Randell and Ian Hodgson.

Allen & Overy (A&O) is advising bookrunners Citi, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch, fielding a team under head of corporate Richard Cranfield and London-based US corporate partner Daniel Epstein.

Linklaters corporate partner Andrew Peck is advising the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF), which, under an earlier restructuring arrangement, has the right to receive a proportion of British Energy's cash flow and convertible shares. The NLF was set up at the time of British Energy's privatisation in 1996 to meet the decommissioning costs of its eight existing nuclear power stations.

CC is well known for advising British Energy. The magic circle firm advised on the company's marathon restructuring, which ended in 2005 after two-and-a-half years and generated around £25m in legal fees. Slaughters advised the Government on the restructuring.