Houlihan Lokey has secured a rare £1 billion plus deal in the UK, shooting up the UK M&A league table following the completion of a bidding war for the betting firm Bwin.

The long-running battle to buy Bwin, which began in November but accelerated in May when AIM-listed GVC Holdings and Gibraltar headquartered 888 Holdings were disclosed as interested parties, pitched several mid-market advisers against each other in pursuit of a major deal win.