DLA has lost out to national rival Eversheds to advise HSBC Private Equity (HSBC PE) on its £100m bid to acquire pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca’s Yorkshire-based subsidiary Marlow Foods.

A team from Eversheds, understood to be led by Manchester corporate partner Edward Pysden and London corporate partner Mark Spinner, is on the verge of closing the deal for HSBC PE – DLA’s long-standing major client.