Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May have led on a deal that has seen the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) give up control of UK insurer Direct Line with a £507m share sale.

RBS, which sold a 34.72% share in Direct Line when it listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, has now sold a further 15.3%, reducing its stake in the insurer to just below 50%.