Bord Gáis has hired Allen Overy, the British law firm that has earned over €2.5 million in fees from Nama, as an adviser on the sale of its energy business.

The energy business is on the block as part of the Government’s asset-sale programme, and its parent group recently retained Dublin solicitors, McCann Fitzgerald, to act as legal advisers on the deal.

It emerged yesterday that it has also taken on Allen Overy. In a statement, Bord Gáis said that it has hired the Spitalfields, London-based firm to have a “wider international perspective on how potential bidders may engage”. It also pointed out that Bord Gáis already uses Allen Overy to advise on energy contracts with UK counterparties.

New Era, the National Treasury Management Agency body, recently confirmed that it has hired AL Goodbody to act on the sale of Bord Gáis Energy.