Stephen Blair

7th Floor, 85 Fleet Street
London EC4Y 1AE
Email: stephen.blair@rlb-law.com
Stephen is a Partner and Head of Corporate and Corporate Restructuring.
Stephen’s clients include turnaround businesses, private equity firms, sports manufacturers and retailers, property companies, marketing and management consultants, IT and leisure and entertainment.
RadcliffesLeBrasseur acts for a significant number of charities, particularly within the healthcare sector. Stephen Blair [is] recommended. Legal 500 2016
Areas of Expertise
Stephen’s specific areas of expertise include private equity, restructuring, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, management buyouts, joint ventures, business start-ups and company formations.
Experience
Private equity, turnaround and private investment
- advising a private equity business in connection with arrangements with co-investors utilising a limited partnership as the preferred investment vehicle and advising on the terms of amendment to the limited partnership and associated documentation on subsequent further investment rounds
- advising on the restructuring of a fast-food company including a funding round from existing investors, debt capitalisation and revision of the company’s articles of association, a review of the company’s existing investment arrangements and drafting a suite of new investment documentation
- acting for a private investment boutique on the sale by one its portfolio companies of a wholly owned food distribution company
- representing a nationwide chain of diners in relation to an investment by a second private equity firm
- acting for a private investment boutique in the acquisition of an IT business providing a complete integrated suite of ICT products and services, identified for the purposes of a business turnaround opportunity. Since acquisition, Stephen has advised the company in connection with its corporate structure and corporate financing arrangements
- advising on an acquisition from an administrator of a hotel business, the restructuring of that business and the raising of further external corporate finance;
- as part of the strategy for the development of a turnaround business, advising on a phantom share option scheme to provide incentives to the business’s management board
- representing a team of private investors in respect of an investment in a data centre company
- advising the target in connection with the terms of an investment by a venture capital company
- acting for a turnaround based Fund in connection with the purchase of a retail design business
- representing numerous portfolio companies of a private equity firm on the terms of various incentive packages to senior executives
- advising a team of private investors in relation to the start-up of a marketing company
- acting on the terms of an investment within and provision of financing to a high value property development business
Mergers and acquisitions
- advising on the formation of a joint venture start-up company to hold premises and operate a café and children’s soft-play facility
- acting for a private equity portfolio company in relation to an acquisition of consultancy partnership business
- representing a fruit drinks business from formation, through its development until its sale
- advising an office equipment company from shortly after its formation, throughout its development and expansion, until acting for its shareholders on a sale
- acting for a telecoms hardware, maintenance and telephone service supply group from formation to sale
- advising a video to mobile business on formation, acting through the company’s development including corporate acquisitions, before acting for the majority shareholders upon the group’s sale to a NASDAQ quoted company
- advising the purchaser on the acquisition of a hotel business and advising on the structure of the acquiring vehicle
- acting on the acquisition and refinancing of an office equipment company, the restructuring of the acquiring company and its acquisition of related businesses to form a group dealing with the sale supply, maintenance and financing of office equipment
- advising on various other share transactions including the sale and purchase of an architects business, printing business, funeral directors and internet based software development company
Reorganisations and corporate finance
- advising an FSA registered advisor in relation to the provision of discretionary advisory advice to an offshore investment Fund.
- advising a nationwide restaurant business on the restructuring of its share premium reserve
- advising a nationwide business on the terms of a company buy-back of shares from a former executive shareholder
- advising on the restructuring of an office equipment company
- advising a company specialising in PC technology on the terms of the reorganisation of its leverage and security arrangements
- acting for a solicitors practice on their incorporation as a limited liability partnership, and then subsequently advising in relation to the use of a partner’s pension fund as part finance for the acquisition of alternative premises and advising on the structure to facilitate the use of pension fund assets
General commercial
- advising on various sponsorship arrangements in the IT and sporting arenas
- advising on the terms of various franchise agreements including those relating to photocopier franchise, a telecoms service franchise and a business consultancy franchise
- advising on limited liability partnership agreements; including agreements in respect of limited liability partnerships in the property development, general trading and solicitors practice fields
- advising on an agreement in connection with the establishing of a national telecoms infrastructure for data communication
- Changes to The Return of Crown Preference
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31 March 2020 | Corporate | Employment - GDPR – What happens after 25 May?
11 May 2018 | Charity | Corporate | Employment | Healthcare | Intellectual property and media law | Litigation and dispute resolution | Primary care | Tax and private client - It may just take a minute to protect a director
9 March 2018 | Corporate | Corporate restructuring and recovery - Conflicts of interest and the turnaround professional – The position in the light of VE Vagas Investors IV
27 February 2018 | Corporate | Corporate restructuring and recovery - UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery
9 November 2017 | Corporate | Employment - Modern Slavery Act – Reforming the referral system for victims
27 October 2017 | Corporate | Employment - Modern Slavery Act – Updated guidance on reporting for businesses
20 October 2017 | Corporate - Modern Slavery Act
2 March 2016 | Corporate - New rules on the use of cookies
1 May 2012 | Corporate | Intellectual property and media law - Implementation of the Bribery Act 2010
9 May 2011 | Corporate - Bribery Act 2010 – An Update
1 February 2011 | Corporate | Corporate restructuring and recovery - The European Commission Green Paper on European Contract Law “ A benevolent intervention in anothe
31 December 2010 | Corporate