Harbottle & Lewis contributes to 2025 Venture Capital Term Sheet Guide

Harbottle & Lewis contributes to 2025 Venture Capital Term Sheet Guide

Members of our venture capital and emerging companies practice have contributed to the latest Venture Capital Term Sheet Guide published by HSBC Innovation Banking in April 2025.

The report collates information from a pool of 588 equity term sheets signed in 2024 and provides detailed analysis of the key terms for equity fundraising, from seed to series C+, to provide an independent view of ‘market standards’ in VC deals.

Click here to read the report.

Following our contribution to the report, managing associate Rosie Marston was interviewed by HSBC Innovation Banking to offer her insight into the report’s findings and the latest trends in investment activity. Watch the full interview below.

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Tom Macleod Partner

Tom is a corporate partner and co-head of the venture capital and emerging companies practice.

Tom is a corporate partner and co-head of the venture capital and emerging companies practice.

Tom advises founders, growing entrepreneurial businesses, venture capital funds and angel investors on a broad range of corporate matters including acquisitions and disposals, exits, all forms of financing rounds (S/EIS, venture capital, venture debt, VCT, growth capital), joint ventures, corporate restructurings and share incentivisation schemes.

He is seen as a rising star in the industry and is known for combining excellent technical skills alongside a pragmatic, commercial approach. Tom has a particular focus on advising high-growth technology companies and is equally adept advising on early stage investments or later stage transactions for both investors and investees alike. Tom is also part of the firm’s international strategy group, with a particular focus on the USA.

Tom trained at CMS, before joining the corporate practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a newly qualified solicitor. He joined Harbottle & Lewis in February 2017.

Rosie Marston Managing Associate

Rosie is a managing associate in the firm’s venture capital and emerging companies practice.

Rosie is a managing associate in the firm’s venture capital and emerging companies practice.

Rosie’s practice focuses on supporting startups and investors in the venture capital ecosystem. She has extensive experience advising on a wide range of corporate transactions, including venture capital and growth stage fundraisings, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder arrangements, early stage SEIS/EIS investments, convertible instruments (including ASAs, SAFEs and convertible loans), founder disputes, share incentive schemes (including EMI options), joint ventures and corporate reorganisations.

Rosie acts for startup and scale-up companies, entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capital funds, family offices and other corporate investors across a wide range of sectors, with particular experience advising clients in the technology sector.

Rosie trained and qualified at Allen & Overy, where she worked in the corporate M&A team for four and a half years, including secondments to the Singapore office and a client secondment to Virgin Management. She subsequently spent two years at law firm MJ Hudson, before joining Harbottle & Lewis in June 2023.

Rosie is passionate about improving the existing gender imbalance within the startup community and has co-written two articles about how diversity has been threatened by rule changes in the UK venture capital ecosystem, both published by FT Adviser. Read the articles here and here.