Slaughter and May is advising OakNorth on its $440 million equity raise led by SoftBank Vision Fund

Slaughter and May is advising OakNorth Holdings Ltd (OakNorth) on its $440 million equity raise, with $390 million of primary investment from SoftBank Vision Fund and additional secondary investment by the Clermont Group.

OakNorth is a challenger bank that specialises in lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Since OakNorth’s launch in September 2015, it has lent more than $4 billion to British businesses, and has licensed its automated lending system to other banks and lenders around the world.

This round takes OakNorth’s total primary and secondary funding to over $1 billion, and values OakNorth at around $2.8 billion, making it Europe’s highest-valued fintech and ranking it as one of the most well-funded fintechs in the world.

Closing of the final investment is subject to regulatory approvals.