Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has won a significant underwriter mandate on the upcoming £1bn initial public offering (IPO) of UK defence research agency QinetiQ, which is set to go ahead next month.

Freshfields, whose team includes corporate partner Simon Witty and of counsel Clare Gonzales-Martin, was brought in by investment banks Credit Suisse First Boston, JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch to advise towards the end of 2005. Partner Sarah Murphy is handling US law issues.