Most intrepid deal: City firm Lovells advised Canadian oil and gas company Petro-Canada on its $840 million (£458 million) acquisition of Intrepid Energy North Sea, which holds a 29.9% interest in the Buzzard oil field. Buzzard is the largest UK North Sea oil field discovered in more than a decade. US firm LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae advised Intrepid.


Most photogenic deal: London firm Farrer & Co advised Phil O'Brien, principal shareholder in Empics, on the sale of the sports photography and photo marketing specialist to the Press Association. Combined, the two organisations will have an archive of nearly nine million news, celebrity and sport images. City firm Taylor Wessing advised the Press Association.



Most swinging deal: Birmingham and London firm Martineau Johnson advised the board of new company Bentley Golf Holdings in the buy-out of the Essex-based Bentley Golf Club from private owners for an undisclosed sum. Reading firm Boyes Turner advised NatWest, which provided funding, while Hertfordshire firm Duffield Harrison acted for the sellers.



Most futuristic deal: The London office of US firm Shearman & Sterling advised Eurex US, the new fully electronic US futures and options exchange, on its application to the Financial Services Authority for recognition as an overseas investment exchange. It is the first successful application of its kind under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.



Most accurate deal: City firm Norton Rose advised Precision Drilling Corporation on its £92.4 million acquisition of Loughborough-based Reeves Oilfield Services. Reeves develops data logging tools, which it uses to provide oil and gas-well logging services to energy companies world-wide. Regional firm Shoosmiths advised Reeves, while City firm Eversheds acted for one of the company's main shareholders, 3i.