Troubled listed legal firm RBG ousts founder Ian Rosenblatt over ‘offensive behaviour’

Listed legal business RBG Holding, which has seen its shares drop to record low levels, has ousted its founder weeks after he called for the removal of the chief executive, while alleging he was verbally abusive to a lender.

On Wednesday, the board of the group informed shareholders that it terminated its consultancy agreement with Ian Rosenblatt with immediate effect.

Its reasons were breaches of the agreement, restrictive covenants given by Rosenblatt, and “offensive behaviour unbecoming of a solicitor and consultant to RBG Holdings plc”.

Rosenblatt, now 65, founded Rosenblatt Solicitors in 1989, which grew to become Rosenblatt Group. The legal group listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 becoming the fourth English law firm at the time to go public.

He was awarded an OBE in 2016 for philanthropic services to music.

Currently RBG is made up of two law firms: dispute-focused Rosenblatt and commercial advice specialist Memery Crystal.

However, the group is going through a tough time as over the last year its share price has fallen by nearly 76 per cent.

Speaking back in November to City AM, Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, stated that “RBG looks to be in a perilous state”. He added that “it’s hard to imagine that RBG can justify keeping its AIM listing given the tiny market value of the business unless trading radically improves.”

Days before Christmas, shareholders were notified by the board that it received a requisition notice from Rosenblatt requesting a general meeting to consider the removal of the chief executive and two current non-executive directors.

It was reported in October that Rosenblatt had been demanding the removal of chief executive Jon Divers, who joined the company in 2022. At that time, he threatened to call an extraordinary meeting of its shareholders unless Divers was sacked.

Today, he was removed from the group.

The board stated that “it has recently come to the attention of the board, from records at Companies House, that at some date prior to 10 September 2024, Ian Rosenblatt acquired 100 per cent of the shares of a company then known as AWH Acquisition Corp Corporate, which is a company regulated by the SRA to practice as a firm of solicitors.”

The board went on to state that on 19 December 2024, Rosenblatt and Tania MacLeod were appointed directors of that company, which on the same day changed its name to Rosenblatt Law.

MacLeod was Rosenblatt’s head of dispute resolution but resigned from the group on 19 December.

“It has also come to the company’s attention that there has also been significant activity as regards domain names relating to the domain www.rosenblatt-law.com, and a new registration of rosenblattlaw.co.uk, first registered on 30 December 2024.”

The board noted that “it is evident that Ian Rosenblatt was in control as the owner of another company regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to provide legal services, at least three weeks before he first contacted the chair of RBG Holdings plc demanding a change of CEO in late September 2024”.

The shareholders were informed that “in light of the evidence” Rosenblatt was already the sole owner of another law firm “well before any public demands for change or any initial negotiations around remuneration were made”, adding that “these negotiations would seem to have been in bad faith.”

The board went on to accuse Rosenblatt of having been “verbally abusive” to HSBC at a meeting over potential refinancing arrangement in 2023

It was noted that this “was only communicated to management for the first time at the meeting in December 2024”, adding “the use of egregiously foul and offensive language was cited by the lender.”

RBG has said it notified the legal regulator SRA “so that they are clear that Rosenblatt Law is in no way affiliated or connected as a business to RBG Legal Services”.

The board went on to state that it will be exploring options for the recovery of the restrictive covenant, and also the loss of revenue anticipated over the next three years.

However, it reserves its position with regard to MacLeod.

“The board will set a date for the General Meeting requisitioned by Ian Rosenblatt as required and continues to believe that the resolutions proposed by Ian Rosenblatt are not in the best interests of all shareholders,” it concluded.

City AM approached the SRA, Rosenblatt and HSBC for comments.