DLA Piper has won a sole adviser mandate to act for Merlin Entertainments on its global construction work, as well as its UK commercial, property and HR work.

Merlin owns attractions such as theme parks Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures and Legoland, as well as London waxworks museum Madame Tussauds.

The company has struck a retainer agreement with DLA which started this month, although Merlin will still work with other firms on a non-retainer basis and where DLA is conflicted.

The review was led by Merlin general counsel Matt Jowett, who joined the company in February last year from packaging company DS Smith, where he was also general counsel.

Corporate partner Rob Salter will oversee the relationship from the DLA side. Salter joined DLA in 2013 in a lateral move from Berwin Leighton Paisner.

Other firms to have acted for for Merlin in recent years include Ashurst, which advised on its 2013 IPO with a team led by capital markets partner Nicholas Holmes and corporate finance partners Mark Sperotto and Jonathan Parry – who have since departed to Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and White & Case, respectively.

Kennedys represented Merlin in 2015 following the high profile 'Smiler' rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers. Regulatory partner Daniel McShee took the lead for the firm in defending the company from a Health and Safety Executive prosecution that saw Merlin fined £5m.