Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis (K&L Gates) has won its first AIM instruction for Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Capital Markets since the stock exchange granted Iceland’s largest bank nominated adviser (nomad) status.

K&L Gates advised Kaupthing as broker on the AIM listing of vocational training company Melorio, which was advised by DLA Piper.

Kaupthing attained nomad status this summer and got to know K&L Gates through partner Jeremy Landau, who cultivated a long relationship with merchant bank Singer & Friedlander before it was taken over by Kaupthing in August 2005.

The listing was oversubscribed and £27.5m was raised by Melorio to acquire Construction Learning World, a UK training provider. Melorio aims to build a vocational training business in the UK through a series of acquisitions.

DLA Piper M&A partner Elia Montorio said the firm often works together with the private equity firm Marwyn Capital, which launched Melorio.

K&L Gates corporate partner Owen Waft, who worked with Landau on the deal, said: “We’d hope to be instructed by them again on similar deals. We have a very good relationship with them.”