Linklaters, Allen & Overy and CMS Cameron McKenna have taken the advisory roles on Vodafone's purchase of 140 Phones4u stores from administrator  PwC in a deal expected to save 900 jobs at the mobile phone retailer.

The £12.4m sale of 140 leasehold properties, along with an in-store inventory valued at £7.1 million, was approved yesterday.

Phones4u, a 700 outlet chain employing 5,596 staff, went into administration last Monday after EE and Vodafone decided not to renew major supply contracts with the retailer beyond next year.

The Linklaters team advising Vodafone is led by restructuring and insolvency partner Richard Hodgson alongside real estate partner Mark Burgess-Smith, managing associate James Warboys and associate Damien Gomez.

Linklaters has acted on a number of high profile administrations of high street retailers in recent years, including HMV, GAME Group, Habitat, Blockbusters, La Senza and Woolworths.

A&O, which won its first mandate ever for the mobile phone retailer on the administration, is advising Phones4u and PwC on the store sale. Global restructuring and insolvency group managing partner Mark Sterling has taken the lead with restructuring partner Ian Field acting on insolvency matters and corporate partner Alun Eynon-Evans taking a role with the administrator on corporate issues.

CMS is acting for Phones 4u's security trustee ING Bank. The administration also saw a role handed to Clifford Chance, which is advising the company's bank lenders.