Private equity and venture capital lawyers

In an increasingly competitive market, we are focused on providing commercial and pragmatic advice, strong project management and proactive service delivery to ensure transactions are completed efficiently and to budget.

We advise at every stage of the lifecycle from fund formation and early-stage investment, development capital and follow-on rounds, to management and institutional buyouts. Our national reach, combined with strong local connections, helps our clients and contacts identify attractive investment opportunities, adding real value.

Our clients are diverse and include private equity and venture capital funds, including venture capital trusts, business angels, family offices, high net worth individuals, providers of acquisition finance and management teams.

Why choose our private equity lawyers?

Our private equity and venture capital lawyers can support with:

• Fund establishment: We advise on the establishment, regulation and dissolution of investment funds.
• Fund structuring and constitution: we have specialist expertise in advising fund managers and limited partners on structuring and negotiating documentation for equity funds, as well as advising fund managers and limited partners on structuring and negotiating documentation for venture capital funds.
• Acquiring and selling companies: advising private equity funds on acquisitions and the legal issues that may develop during their ownership, including further acquisitions and exit events.
• Investments: advising venture capital funds on investments and the legal issues that may develop during their ownership, including further acquisitions and exit events.
• Debt finance: advising on arrangements for working capital and acquisition finance, including bilateral and syndicated loan agreements, on private equity deals, including advising on the terms offered by lending institutions, security requirements and on the inter-creditor arrangements.
• Due diligence: carrying out commercially relevant and user-friendly legal due diligence for private equity and venture capital funds and banks.
• Dissolution: winding up venture capital funds.

As a full service law firm, we are also able to provide the full range of legal services that investee companies may require through the lifetime of their private equity or venture capital investment. This includes commercial advice, including intellectual property and data protection, cybersecurity through CyXcel, employment, disputes, regulatory and real estate.

Our private equity clients

Our clients include:

• LDC
• BGF
• Perwyn Advisors (UK)
• Maven Capital Partners
• Midven
• NorthStar Ventures
• Bloc Ventures
• DSW Ventures
• Midlands Engine Investment Fund

We have also advised a number of private equity funds that invest in the healthcare and energy sectors and have dedicated teams that are able, in particular, to provide the due diligence support on large private equity deals.

Over the last 12 months we have advised on over 50 private equity and venture capital transactions, with a deal size ranging from £100,000 to £40 million.