Gleacher Shacklock has secured one of its biggest advisory mandates in its four-year history after top financier Guy Hands brought the investment banking boutique in for additional firepower on a possible £10bn (€14.7bn) bid for healthcare group Alliance Boots.

The boutique will work alongside Lehman, which was already working on the deal for Terra Firma, Guy Hands' buyout firm, and Wellcome Trust, the medical research charity with which it it is bidding.