Advising on Investments
We have advised countless early stage clients on angel and venture capital investment at various stages:
- so-called “friends and family” capital
- seed capital
- series A capital; and
- growth capital
The majority of our investment deals have been for an investment of between £100,000 and £2,500,000 and we regularly advise on deals structured as all equity, part equity and debt and where convertible debt instruments are used.
The majority of our investment clients are entrepreneurs and companies seeking investment, although we do also act for venture capital and angel investors.
Investment Readiness
We work closely with our IP, technology, commercial, employment and tax colleagues to ensure, so far as possible, that our clients are appropriately protected from the risks associated with investment deals.
Aside from acting on the deals themselves, we also help our clients and prospective clients prepare for investment. An "Investment Readiness Audit” can be a vital part of an investment exercise – ensuring that the business is sufficiently robust from a legal perspective. This does not necessarily mean that every “t” has to be crossed and every “i” dotted, but it does mean checking that the key risk areas (such as share ownership and IP protection) have been recognised and addressed appropriately.
It is much better that this exercise is carried out before a potential investor begins their due diligence - discovering legal problems can cause an investor to re-examine the price of the deal or, in more serious cases, can cause an investor to walk away from a deal entirely.
Experience
Examples of our work include:
- advising clean-tech microelectronics start up, enModus, on its $1.6million fundraising from venture capital investor Andromeda;
- advising long-standing technology client, Coull, on a series of angel and venture capital investments; and
- advising early stage renewable consultant, The Green Company (Europe) Limited, on a substantial investment by venture capital investor Constantine Group.
Click here for more information about our Corporate expertise.
Contact details
If you would like to discuss a potential investment or an Investment Readiness Audit, please contact Nathan Guest on 0117 314 5289 or Nina Searle on 0117 314 5463.
