Green fingers: Ipswich firm Birketts advised Notcutts, a Woodbridge-based garden centre operator, on its £14.5m acquisition of six garden centres in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Cheshire from AIM-listed distribution company NWF Group. North-west firm Brabners advised NWF.

Banking Down Under: Magic circle firm Allen & Overy, alongside Australian firm Clayton Utz, advised HBOS on the £1.3bn sale of Bank of Western Australia and St Andrew’s Australia to Commonwealth Bank of Australia. HBOS will continue to operate in Australia through Bank of Scotland International (Australia) and Capital Finance Australia. Commonwealth Bank was advised by Australian firm Freehills.

Wind and water: Birmingham firm Wragge & Co advised Partnerships for Renewables (PfR), an independent organisation that helps public bodies set up renewable energy projects, on plans to build 50 wind turbines with a total generating capacity of 100 megawatts, by canals and rivers. PfR will work alongside British Waterways, the public body that maintains the UK’s canals and rivers. City firm Norton Rose advised British Waterways.

Diplomacy: London firm Maples Teesdale advised the US government on acquiring land at Nine Elms Lane, Wandsworth, London, for its new embassy. Ballymore Properties, the sellers, were advised by Birmingham firm Wragge & Co.

Outsourcing: The London office of US firm Shearman & Sterling advised Scandent Holdings Mauritius on the £83m acquisition by Xchanging, the UK business-process outsourcing company, of 75% of Bangalore-based subsidiary Cambridge Solutions Xchanging was advised by magic ­circle firm Clifford Chance.