Osborne Clarke's Venture and Growth capital practice is a market leader in the technology and life sciences sectors in Europe.
We advise companies and investors on more than 100 sub-£5 million fundraisings a year and 400-plus venture and growth funding rounds of between £10 million to £100 million a year.
Our role in these deals is evenly split between advising investee companies and investors and this gives us an unrivalled knowledge of the venture capital market and a scale and depth of experience to deliver any fundraising transaction smoothly and efficiently
Fund establishment and ongoing advice
Our funds team can assist in the design and launch of a new fund structure for an investor, aligning the structure to the investor's specific needs. Our advice on fund formation can additionally encompass entity incorporation, preparation of constitutional documentation, regulatory advice, service-provider relationship negotiation and tax planning.
Fundraising strategy and advice
We can provide preliminary advice to founders and management teams on how a fundraising will work, different types of investment, strategic advice and guidance on preparatory steps. We also regularly provide advice and guidance to investors on current market practice on deal terms and structures. Find out more here.
Investment documentation
We can assist on the drafting and negotiation of heads of terms, subscription and shareholders' or investment agreements and articles of association, providing market appropriate and sensible advice on negotiations and the documents. Find out more here.
Convertible loans and advance subscriptions, ASAs (Advanced Subscription Agreements), SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)
Our team drafts and advises investors and companies on all forms of convertibles, including on current market practice and tax treatment where relevant. Find out more here.
Due diligence
We can undertake pre-investment reviews to ensure a company is clean and investment ready, using our experience to focus on typical investor red flags and handle relevant remedial steps. We also provide our own virtual data room facility and carry out formal due diligence reviews pre-investment for our investor clients, covering UK and international aspects of any target business as needed.
Tax advice
Our Tax team advises investors and companies on qualification for Venture Capital Trusts, the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). The team can also provide tax advice in respect of investments by founders, managers and other individuals related to their personal tax position.
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Project management and technology
To ensure a painless and efficient process for our clients, we exemplify project-management best practice and take advantage of available technologies in relation to drafting, project management and document execution to ensure a smooth and efficient transaction process and completion.
Venture and growth debt
We are well versed with the different venture and growth lending products available including term loans, receivables based financings and recurring revenue facilities.
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Work highlights from across the ventures ecosystem
Connect with one of our experts
Justin Starling
Partner, UK
Rob Hayes
Partner, Head of Reading Office, UK
Herke van Hulst
Partner, Advocaat, The Netherlands
Mikael Nelson
Partner, Sweden
Helen Parsonage
Partner, UK
David Miranda
Partner, Spain
Nicolas Gabrysch
Partner, Germany
James Taylor
Partner, UK
Elizabeth Yell
Associate Director, UK
Josephine Healy-Russell
Associate Director, UK
Robert Pook
Associate Director, UK
Elinor Owen
Associate Director, UK
Kamila Bochenek
Senior Associate, UK
