Venue hire: Sports law firm Couchmans advised Barclays on becoming the official retail bank at London’s O2 Arena.

Fair Kop: US firm Shearman & Sterling advised New ­England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, on its ­proposed acquisition of ­Liverpool Football Club for around $480m (£300m). Magic circle firm Slaughter and May advised the board of holding company Kop Football on ­selling Liverpool FC.

Supporting role: London firm Howard Kennedy advised Santander Corporate Banking in an acquisition and investment deal for Christchurch Court UK, a vehicle set up to acquire a specialised support unit for brain injury sufferers. The investors in Christchurch were Sovereign Capital, advised by national firm ­Hammonds, while the ­vendors of the care unit were advised by Swindon firm Clark Holt.

Meal deal: The London office of US firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe advised restaurant chain Carluccio’s on its £90m acquisition by retail conglomerate Landmark Group’s C1 Acquisitions, advised by City firm Ashurst.

Telecoms tie-up: The London office of US firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld advised mobile telecoms operator VimpelCom on its merger with telecoms holding company Weather Investments, advised by US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. The merged company will have net revenues of $21.5bn (£13.5bn).

Auto traders: The London office of US firm Skadden advised car manufacturer Renault on selling a €3bn (£2.6bn) stake in car ­manufacturer Volvo.

Wheels in motion: Linklaters advised tyre manufacturer Michelin on its €1.2bn (£1bn) pan-European rights issue, with Cleary Gottlieb advising a syndicate of banks on the placing.

Sukuk issue: City firm Herbert Smith advised Qatar Islamic Bank on a $750m (£470m) sukuk issue. Magic circle firm Allen & Overy advised the lead managers.