Lovells jumped 38 places to storm into the top three firms by value for UK M&A deals in the first quarter.

Mergermarket rankings for Q1 M&A in the UK show the firm advised on 14 deals over the period worth a total of €148.7bn (£116.9bn), taking it from 41st place at the end of 2007 to third by value and from 20th place to seventh by volume.