Venture Capital and Growth Companies
In a rapidly evolving regulatory and economic landscape, our venture capital and growth company clients look to us for clear, practical, common-sense advice to help them drive growth.
We advise investors from early stage, late stage and growth venture funds through to large, international venture capital firms and institutional investors. We also advise the full spectrum of growth companies from start-ups to the largest public and private companies in the US, UK and around the globe. Our standards of technical excellence, commercial pragmatism and client-focused service apply to all our clients in this space – however big or small.
We have one of the strongest corporate practices in the world and are known as a top-tier firm in the acquisitions, mergers and investments space. What makes us stand out though is our wider expertise. Our multi-disciplinary team has recognised market-leading expertise in Financial Regulation, Competition, Foreign Investment, Incentives, Data Privacy, Blockchain, Cyber, AI and more. We have a complete view of the issues facing both investors and growth companies, enabling us to solve those issues in the right way for the particular client and situation rather than rely on “market practice”.
Our international strategy gives us strong connections with elite teams of independent-minded lawyers around the world, including the major tech hubs such as Silicon Valley, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Key Experience
We advised SoftBank Vision Fund 2 as the lead investor in Revolut Ltd’s $800 million series E fundraising. The funding round valued Revolut at approximately $33 billion, making it the most valuable fintech company in the UK.
We advised Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc from start-up through to its initial public offering on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
We advised retail investment platform PrimaryBid Limited from start-up through to its latest $190 million Series C fundraising, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
We advised Anthony Danon and Carmen Alfonso Rico, VCs turned angels, in connection with the formation of their investment business, Cocoa. Cocoa’s thesis is to become an in-house VC to its portfolio companies, providing $200k-$500k investments in pre-seed/seed funding rounds.
We advised SC Ventures, the innovation and ventures unit of Standard Chartered, on its partnership with Northern Trust to launch Zodia Custody, an institutional-grade custody solution for cryptocurrencies.
We advised Oxford Science Enterprises on its £250 million capital raise. OSE is an independent investment company created to found, fund and build transformational businesses via its unique partnership with the University of Oxford.
We advised Ava Security Limited, global provider of cloud-native video security and analytics, on its exit and acquisition by Motorola Solutions, Inc..
We advised Daily Mail and General Trust plc and its wholly-owned subsidiary, dmg ventures, on the business combination between Cazoo, an online car retailer, and AJAX 1, a special purpose acquisition company.
We advised Aviva Ventures, as lead investor alongside Munich Re, on a £500 million Series A equity investment in Neos, a company which combines smart home technology with home insurance in the UK.
