Lewis Silkin acts for Sans Frontieres Associates on their investments from Dods Group Plc and Lord Timothy Bell

Dods Group Plc, an intelligence, media, events and training specialist, purchased a 40% stake of Sans Frontieres Associates, in addition to providing a £700,000 loan for working capital. The investment allowed the two companies to join forces and further develop their shared common views of changing client requirements and emerging markets. Lord Timothy Bell, public relations tycoon, founder of Bell Pottinger and former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, purchased a 20% stake of Sans Frontieres Associates. Lord Bell stepped down from his role at Bell Pottinger in August 2016 in order to focus on this venture.

Lewis Silkin was instructed to act for the Sans Frontieres due to their enviable reputation in the PR and advertising and marketing sectors, having also recently advised Be Heard Group and Four Communications on numerous transactions. Lewis Silkin are also quickly becoming the “go-to” firm for innovative start-ups like Sans Frontieres Associates, and take a hands on approach with start-up initiatives such as Startup Grind, Collider, FinTech50 and General Assembly, allowing them to gain an indepth understanding of the start-up community.

Paul Rajput successfully led the Lewis Silkin team, supported by employment associate, Charlotte Morgan.

Jonathan Lehrle, founder and CEO of Sans Frontieres Associates said of Lewis Silkin’s involvement: “I wanted a particular set-up for Sans Frontieres, which probably made things slightly more complicated than they should have been, but Paul and his team understood exactly what I wanted and made it happen.”