People | Tony Littner

Tony Littner is a Partner in the Corporate Practice and is Head of the Venture Capital Group.

Tony provides strategic corporate and commercial advice to growing entrepreneurial businesses, angel and super angel investors and venture capital funds. He also handles a broad range of company/commercial work, providing legal advice on private company mergers and acquisitions, disposals, reorganisations, joint ventures and shareholder arrangements. Tony advises clients from all industry sectors, although particularly media and entertainment, communications and technology.

Examples of venture capital deals acting for the investee include:

• Advising mydeco, the online intermediary for the home design market founded by Brent Hoberman, on its £7.35m round of financing led by Sofinnova Partners;
• Advising interactive gaming company, Zattikka, in relation to its $5.5m investment through its parent company Expedite 5, Inc., which was led by Notion Capital.

Examples of venture capital deals acting for the investor include:

• Advising PROfounders Capital, the European VC fund backed by some of the UK’s most successful tech entrepreneurs, including Brent Hoberman and Michael Birch, in relation to the Series A funding round in CitySocialising, the UK’s leading Online2Offline subscription-based ‘socialising network’ for outgoing urbanites to meet new friends and , in relation to its investment in easyCar (founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou) to introduce the “Car Club” to the UK;
• Advising Seraphim Capital, the specialist early stage technology investor, on the investment round in semiconductor company, Pyreos.

Recent corporate deals include advising the Forward Internet Group on its acquisition of uSwitch.com, the UK's leading online energy price comparison and switching service, from the US media company Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.

Tony is actively involved with initiatives to support the growth and development of enterprise in the UK and is regularly invited to speak at events, workshops and seminars for entrepreneurs and investors.

Tony trained at Herbert Smith and qualified into the Corporate department in March 2003 before joining Harbottle & Lewis in 2005.

Tony is recommended in the field of Venture Capital by The Legal 500, 2011 which says that “Harbottle & Lewis LLP’s venture capital team excels in transactions in the media, communications and technology sectors.”