Energy boost: Allen & Overy advised a consortium of six banks on creating the Marguerite Fund, an energy, climate change and infrastructure fund for EU member states. The banks contributed €100m (£90m) each, with the fund seeking to raise €1.5bn (£1.35bn) by mid-2011.

It’s academic: Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised academic publisher Springer Science+Business Media on its €1.7bn (£1.53bn) debt refinancing and subsequent €2.23bn (£2.01bn) sale to private equity fund EQT and Singapore investment managers GIC. Magic circle firm Clifford Chance and German firm Hengeler Mueller advised EQT, while City firm Simmons & Simmons advised GIC. Magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised a syndicate of four underwriting banks.

Sukuk structure: Clifford Chance advised Citi and Goldman Sachs as joint lead managers and underwriters on General Electric Capital Corporation’s $500m (£308m) sukuk issue. The Clifford Chance team worked with Sharia scholars to structure the sukuk, believed to be the first ­investment grade sukuk for a US corporate. Allen & Overy and US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton advised General Electric.

Credit check: National firm DLA Piper advised Lloyds Banking Group on financing private equity firm Vitruvian’s acquisition of the CallCredit Group, the credit-checking subsidiary of Skipton Building Society, for an undisclosed sum. Anglo-Scottish firm Dickson Minto advised Vitruvian while national firm Addleshaw Goddard advised Skipton.

City hotel: City firm Lovells, alongside US firm Dechert, advised a subsidiary of Frogmore Real Estate Partners on the proposed development of an 80-room luxury boutique hotel for D&D London Restaurants at 3/4 South Place, London, to open in 2012. City firm Olswang advised D&D.

Signing over: London firm Pritchard Englefield advised French technology group OROLIA on acquiring McMurdo, the UK marine business of emergency equipment manufacturer Signature Industries, for $10m (£6m). Milton Keynes firm Kimbells advised Signature Industries.

Bottle opener: City firm Taylor Wessing, alongside Scottish firm Turcan Connell, advised Highland Spring on its £17.5m acquisition of the bottled water division of Dublin-based Greencore Group. Irish firm Arthur Cox and Scottish firm Burness advised Greencore.