Slaughter and May wins Capital Markets Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2026
International law firm Slaughter and May has won Capital Markets Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2026, held in London on 29 September 2026.
The firm won the award for its work advising Shawbrook, the high-growth UK digital banking platform, on its £1.92bn Initial Public Offering on the London Stock Exchange. This was the UK’s biggest IPO of 2025, and a transformative step for a long-standing client in delivering its ambitious growth plans.
The Capital Markets Team of the Year award recognises outstanding performance on a high-profile capital markets transaction with a significant UK element. Judges looked for involvement in market-defining deals and compelling evidence of why the team's contribution stood out from its peers.
The Slaughter and May team advising Shawbrook was led by partners Christian Boney and Warwick Brennand.
They said: "Standing on the balcony of the London Stock Exchange on the morning of Shawbrook’s LSE debut was an amazing moment for all involved and we are proud to have advised Shawbrook on this milestone event and be recognised for our leading capital markets capability at the Legal Business Awards 2026.”
Richard Smith, head of Slaughter and May’s Capital Markets practice said: “Winning this award recognises of our track record of advising on the UK’s largest IPOs and listings over the years but also demonstrates our expertise more broadly across the capital markets spectrum. Alongside marquee listings, we are consistently advising our large client base of UK public companies on equity raisings, listings and secondary listings and sell-downs. We have a standout team, operating in Europe’s largest and most active capital market, and this award reflects the strength of our practice and the exceptional work we deliver for our clients here.”
The firm was also highly commended for Disputes Team of the Year for its advice to Close Brothers on its successful appeal to the Supreme Court in Hopcraft regarding broker commissions in a motor finance context, one of the most significant financial services disputes to be heard by the Supreme Court. The team was led by partner and co-head of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group, Gayathri Kamalanathan.