Bird & Bird and Burges Salmon have won spots on Virgin Group's UK legal panel after a review of the organisation's preferred advisers.

Six other firms – Allen & Overy (A&O), Bond Pearce, Denton Wilde Sapte, Harbottle & Lewis, Herbert Smith and Macfarlanes – have been reappointed to the eight-firm roster as of 1 January.

Regular adviser DLA Piper, however, has not been reappointed to the panel. Virgin group legal director Ian Woods said the reason for this was because DLA had been advising Virgin on a narrow collection of areas.

The review, which kicked off in September, was carried out by Woods and group legal manager Anita Waters.

Virgin reviews its panel every two years, with the company assessing which firms best suit its business.

Woods said: "We look forward to working with our panel as the group continues to develop its existing businesses and pursue new opportunities around the world.

"We are looking forward to building a relationship with Bird & Bird and Burges Salmon, both of whom we believe have a lot to offer our group across a variety of different specialisms."

The news comes after Dentons took a lead role on Virgin Money's acquisition of Church House Trust, marking the first foray into the banking sector for the Virgin Group. TLT Solicitors advised Church House.

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