Michael Bloch
Partner
London
Michael Bloch
Partner
London
Contact details
Michael is a partner in Allen & Overy’s London corporate team and co-heads Allen & Overy’s UK equity capital markets (ECM) practice. He is also involved in the firm’s growth capital focus group.
He has extensive experience in a wide range of ECM transactions, including initial public offerings (IPOs), rights issues, open offers, placings and accelerated bookbuild offerings, as well as other corporate finance transactions, public and private acquisitions and disposals and auction processes, frequently on a cross-border basis.
Michael is listed as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ in Legal 500, is a ranked individual in Chambers, and a ‘Rising Star’ in IFLR1000.
Expertise
Practices
Sectors
Qualifications
Professional
Academic
MA (Oxon), History, University of Oxford, 2002
Dip. Law, Nottingham Law School, 2003
LPC, Nottingham Law School, 2004
Experience highlights
For over 15 years, Michael has been advising growing companies, underwriting banks, shareholders and investors on IPOs and listings of companies on the London Stock Exchange and other international stock exchanges. Recent experience includes advising on the IPOs of CAB Payments and Ithaca Energy – among the largest to complete in the UK in 2023 and 2022 respectively. He has also advised on IPOs for DWF Group, Quilter, China Yangtze Power, Sensyne Health, McCarthy & Stone, Equiniti, Circassia Pharmaceuticals, Softcat, Kuwait Energy, Ophir Energy, Hibernia REIT, Spire Healthcare, Poundland and many more.
Michael also advises listed companies, underwriting banks and selling shareholders across the globe on rights issues, open offers, placings, block trades and other strategic equity-related and corporate finance transactions. This includes capital raisings, public M&A, demergers and spin offs, redomiciliations and reorganisations. Recent examples include advising TUI on four significant capital raisings including its recent EUR1.8bn rights issue – the largest in London since 2020 – and on significant rights issues and open offers for TP ICAP, Marks & Spencer, Sirius Minerals, Energias de Portugal (EDP), Cobham and Equiniti. He has also advised on other capital raisings for companies including Ocado, Hiscox and The Cooperative Bank, as well as on a significant number of accelerated block trades.
Michael acts as adviser to listed and private companies on a multitude of corporate governance matters, such as compliance with listing rules and other securities laws, directors’ duties, board effectiveness, internal procedures and controls, corporate reporting and investor engagement.
As an involved member of Allen & Overy’s growth capital and EC/VC group, Michael advises private companies on capital raisings from Series B onwards, in addition to supporting those companies to IPO and beyond.
Related articles
Publications: 05 February 2024
UK Listing Rules reforms: Controlling shareholder regime and dual-class share rights
This is the last publication in a series of Allen & Overy publications on the FCA's Consultation Paper (CP23/31) setting out its detailed proposals for listing rules reforms as part of its Primary…
Publications: 30 January 2024
Publications: 24 January 2024
Publications: 22 January 2024
Expertise
Practices
Sectors
Qualifications
Professional
Academic
MA (Oxon), History, University of Oxford, 2002
Dip. Law, Nottingham Law School, 2003
LPC, Nottingham Law School, 2004
Other noteworthy experience
Advising:
- CAB Payments on its GBP851.4m IPO on the London Stock Exchange.
- Delek Group as selling shareholder on the GBP 2.5 billion IPO and premium listing on the London Stock Exchange’s main market of its portfolio company, Ithaca Energy.
- TUI, the leading global tourism group, which is premium-listed on the London Stock Exchange and in Germany, on three rights issues and a placing since 2020 to raise over EUR3.5bn, including its most recent EUR1.8bn capital increase – this was the largest in the London market since 2020.
- SFPI-FPIM, a Belgian government-owned investment company, on its USD2.3bn accelerated block trade of shares in BNP Paribas.
- SPEAR Investments I and its sponsors, AZ Capital and STJ Advisors, on its EUR175m SPAC IPO on Euronext Amsterdam.
- Ocado Group on its GBP578m equity placing on the London Stock Exchange.
- TP ICAP on its re-domiciliation to Jersey (including a scheme of arrangement and re-admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange), Class 1 acquisition of Liquidnet, a leading global electronic trading network for institutional investors, for a consideration of between USD575m and USD700m and related USD420m rights issue.
- Hiscox on its GBP375m cashbox placing of new ordinary shares by way of an accelerated bookbuild.
Pro-bono experience
Michael is a keen advocate of Allen & Overy’s social impact, pro bono and community support work, in particular working with charitable organisations on their corporate structuring and funding requirements.
He is also involved in Allen & Overy’s Solicitor Apprenticeships programme.
Recognition
Michael Bloch is quietly efficient and is able to navigate complex issues with unerring ease.
Legal 500 2024
Michael is brilliant, he has excellent depth of knowledge.
Chambers UK 2024 (Equity Capital Markets)
Michael is a pleasure to deal with and absolutely knows his stuff, he's very highly regarded by all.
Chambers UK 2024 (Equity Capital Markets)
He’s a very good lawyer with a good reputation and a good practice.
Chambers UK 2022 (ECM)
