DWF saddened by death of former chair in tycoon yacht sinking

Law firm DWF has confirmed that its former chair Jonathan Bloomer, alongside his wife Judy, perished in the sinking of a superyacht off the coast of Sicily, along with five other people including tech tycoon Mike Lynch.

DWF’s chief executive officer, Sir Nigel Knowles, said everyone at the firm was “deeply saddened” by the news. 

“It is truly awful news to learn of the passing of Jonathan and his wife Judy. Jonathan was a friend as well as a colleague and our immediate thoughts are with the Bloomer’s children and grandchildren, and the families of all of those involved in this terrible event.

“It was a great pleasure to work with Jonathan during his time as Chair of our PLC Board, a tenure which ran from August 2020, through to October last year when he left that role following our de-listing from the London Stock Exchange. He made a very positive impact on our business, during a period of significant change, and growth. He was astute and commercially intelligent, always quick to identify the issues that the Board needed to scrutinise, and doing so with fairness and a desire to find the right solutions. Jonathan led our Board through the decision to take DWF private with Inflexion, working steadfastly to ensure the interests of all our stakeholders were reflected.

“Most notably for me, Jonathan retained a strong interest in our business and continued to be a friend to DWF. I had the opportunity to spend time with Jonathan and Judy earlier this month, where he was keen to hear of the progress we have made over the past nine months or so. He will be sorely missed.”