Just under a year earlier than expected by some in the City, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) this week (26 February) announced the sell-off of the majority of its remaining stake in Direct Line, gifting Allen & Overy (A&O) with a further bite of the cherry in a deal anticipated to be worth over £1bn.
A&O led by corporate partner David Broadley was first instructed on RBS’ float of 34.72% of Direct Line in the autumn of 2012, after the 80% nationalised bank was forced to offload the major insurer under EU regulations on state aid.










