Slaughter and May’s famed boardroom connections have snared it a lucrative instruction from Pilkington on its potential £2bn takeover – despite Herbert Smith having already been given the role.

Herbert Smith’s head of M&A, Caroline Goodall, started advising Pilkington earlier this month on preliminary advice relating to an approach the company received from Japanese glass maker rival Nippon Sheet Glass on 31 October. The initial £2bn Nippon offer was rejected last week for being too low.