Magic circle duo Linklaters and Slaughter and May have taken lead roles on Santander's £2bn acquisition of 318 branches from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Santander has instructed Slaughter and May, a longstanding adviser of the bank, with the firm fielding a team led by relationship partner Frances Murphy alongside corporate partners Andrew Jolly and Roland Turnill and finance partner Robert Byk.

The sale is part of a deal agreed with the European Commission, with the sale forced on RBS to allay competition concerns after the bank received a billion-pound bailout from the UK Government during the downturn.

RBS was advised on the sale by Linklaters, which fielded a team led by corporate partner Matthew Middleditch.

Santander fought off competition from rivals, including National Australia Bank, to seal the purchase.

Santander has already bought and rebranded Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley's savings and branch network as it continues to build its presence on the British high street.

Several thousand staff currently employed by RBS will be affected by the sale, though the precise terms have yet to be worked out, with the separation of the branches expected to take up to 18 months to complete.

Once the transaction goes through, the Spanish bank will run more than 1,600 branches.

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