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Tag: Tom-Macleod

Harbottle & Lewis advises Kord on $6.4 million series A round

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Harbottle & Lewis has advised Kord, formerly known as Checkboard, on its $6.4 million Series A funding round.

The investment was led by Guinness Ventures, with participation from Beringea, SFC Capital and a group of angel investors.

Founded by James Owusu in 2019, Kord is a UK-based fintech company which provides an end-to-end platform for firms in regulated industries, enabling seamless client onboarding, identity verification, compliance checks, document management and payment processing. Its innovative modular system addresses the inefficiencies of traditional fragmented legacy systems, offering a streamlined and secure solution for businesses.

Kord’s platform is already trusted by estate agents, law firms, conveyancers and financial services companies, helping them to mitigate fraud risks and improve operational efficiency. The Series A funding will enable Kord to accelerate its growth, expand its team, enhance product development and acquire new customers.

The Harbottle & Lewis team was led by partner Tom Macleod and managing associate Rosie Marston, with support from associate Suzie Hamilton.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, Kord founder and CEO James Owusu said:

“Harbottle & Lewis provided high-quality support during this pivotal stage for Kord. They clearly have great expertise in handling fast-paced venture capital transactions and combine this with a very pragmatic approach. The team’s dedication and collaborative approach around the clock made them an invaluable partner and we’re excited to move forward with their guidance as the business grows.”

Commenting on the transaction, Tom Macleod at Harbottle & Lewis added:

“Supporting innovative companies like Kord on their growth journeys is always incredibly rewarding. This funding marks an exciting milestone for Kord as they continue to transform client onboarding and compliance processes for regulated industries. We are proud to have worked alongside James and the Kord team on this transaction and look forward to seeing their continued success as they scale their platform and expand their reach.”

Harbottle & Lewis advises Poolhouse on $55 million series A round

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Harbottle & Lewis has advised Poolhouse on its $55 million growth equity investment led by Bluestone Equity Partners, a global private equity firm focused on the sports, media and entertainment industry.

This Series A round represents the next significant step in Poolhouse’s trajectory and the round will be used to fund the continued global rollout of Poolhouse’s venues, as well as to expand BillyQ, Poolhouse’s proprietary vision-processing platform.

Co-founded by long-standing Harbottle & Lewis clients Steven and Dave Jolliffe (the founders of Topgolf and co-founders of Puttshack) alongside CEO Andrew O’Brien, Poolhouse brings a new dimension to social entertainment. By fusing the timeless game of pool with cutting-edge technology and world class hospitality, Poolhouse has quickly established itself as a standout name in the leisure and entertainment space.

Harbottle & Lewis has advised Poolhouse since the company’s inception, including on its $34 million seed funding round in 2025. The seed funding round was led by Sharp Alpha (a US leisure-focused venture capital investor) and DMG Ventures (DMGT’s consumer venture capital fund) and paved the way for the opening of the company’s highly anticipated flagship London venue at Liverpool Street.

The Harbottle & Lewis team was led by partner Tom Macleod and managing associate Rosie Marston, with support from associates Elizabeth Compton and Suzie Hamilton, and trainee solicitor Hugo Carter.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, Poolhouse CEO Andrew O’Brien commented:

“Harbottle & Lewis has been a trusted adviser to Poolhouse since the company’s inception and has supported us through each important stage of our development. Tom, Rosie and the wider team went above and beyond throughout this transaction, combining excellent legal judgment with a genuine understanding of what matters to us as a business. Their commitment was exceptional, and we are extremely grateful for their continued support as we enter the next phase of Poolhouse’s growth.”

Commenting on the transaction, Tom Macleod said:

“We are delighted to have supported the Poolhouse team once again on this significant milestone. Having advised the business from its very earliest days and through its seed round last year, it is incredibly rewarding to see the company’s continued growth and momentum. We are excited to see what comes next.”

Harbottle & Lewis advises Amdax on its acquisition of a strategic stake in Custodiex

Posted on by Julia Krol

We have advised Amdax, a Netherlands-based digital asset service provider, on its acquisition of a strategic stake in UK-based Custodiex, a specialist in quantum-safe cold storage solutions for digital assets.

Founded to provide cutting-edge custody infrastructure for financial institutions, Custodiex has established itself as a key innovator in the digital asset custody sector. The Manchester-based company’s quantum-safe solutions are designed to be scalable and future-proof, and meet the stringent international ISO 27001 security standard. The transaction enables Amdax to enhance its comprehensive digital asset platform.

Our team was led by partner Tom Macleod and managing associate Rosie Marston, with support from managing associate Katerina Capras and associates Elizabeth Compton and Matthew Shannon. Partner Yvonne Gallagher and associate Elisabeth Davies advised on employment aspects, partner Shireen Peermohamed and associate Samuel Flack advised on IP matters and senior associate Matthew Stephenson advised on property law matters.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, Martin Cernohorsky, Amdax Head of Legal, commented:

“Working with the Harbottle & Lewis team was a great pleasure. Their broad range of expertise and professionalism proved invaluable in navigating throughout the twists and turns of this deal. From the start we were in good hands. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Harbottle & Lewis.”

Tom Macleod added:

“We are delighted to have supported Amdax on this strategically significant acquisition. The combination of Amdax’s regulated platform with Custodiex’s innovative custody technology creates a compelling proposition for institutional clients across Europe. We look forward to seeing the continued success of this partnership as the digital asset custody market matures.”

Harbottle & Lewis contributes to 2025 Venture Capital Term Sheet Guide

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

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.

Harbottle & Lewis advises Smart on $95m Series E Funding

Posted on by Alex Molyneux

Harbottle & Lewis has advised Smart, the London-headquartered fintech transforming the global retirement savings market, on its $95m Series E funding round led by Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a private investment firm based in New York and London.

Existing investors participating in the round included Chrysalis Investments, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, DWS, Barclays and Natixis Investment Managers.

Funds from this investment round will bolster Smart’s global expansion plans, building on the company’s strong performance in Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia. Proceeds from the round will also help finance near-term acquisitions and accelerate Smart’s investment in and distribution of its proprietary retirement savings technology platform, Keystone. The market-leading growth and profitability of its UK-based Smart Pension business is underpinned by the scalability of the Keystone platform.

Smart has experienced a period of exceptional growth, with group revenue of £67m in 2022, a 65% increase on the previous year. In February 2023, Smart was ranked among Europe’s fastest-growing companies by the Financial Times.

Smart today already has over £5.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) on its platform and is expected to exceed £10bn by the end of June 2023 following this Series E funding. Growth has been driven by the accelerating global demand for modern, digital retirement savings technology, the success of Smart Pension in the UK and strategic M&A.

Established in 2014 by Andrew Evans and Will Wynne in the wake of the UK’s roll out of mandatory workplace pension auto enrolment, Smart owns and operates one of “the big four” UK auto enrolment master trusts, Smart Pension, serving more than one million savers and 70,000 employers.

Commenting on the deal, Tony Littner, corporate partner and head of venture said:

“Having advised Smart since it was a startup and on their previous funding rounds, we were delighted and proud to have had the opportunity to support them again on their latest significant milestone. It is well-known that the environment for raising money is more challenging at the moment than it has been in recent years so for Smart to have been able to close a round of this nature at this time is a tremendous testament to the management team and their vision as well as being a welcome and positive endorsement for the state of UK fintech.”

On working with Harbottle, Eoin Corcoran, Smart CFO said:

“Harbottle & Lewis have done an amazing job in supporting Smart through a number of significant and complex funding rounds from the very early stages of the company to where we are today with the latest Aquiline led round. Tony Littner and Tom Macleod are highly pragmatic, experts at what they do, and perhaps most importantly, are always willing to give their views on key commercial points.”

The Harbottle team which advised Smart on the transaction was led by the firm’s head of venture, Tony Littner, and senior associate Tom Macleod, with support from associates Emily Miles, Tom Connor and Katerina Capras, and trainee Grace Tang.

Harbottle & Lewis advises Primer on £14 million Series A fundraising

Posted on by Alex Molyneux

Harbottle & Lewis has advised UK fintech, Primer API Limited (Primer), on a £14 million Series A fundraising led by Accel, with participation from existing shareholders Balderton Capital, Speedinvest and Seedcamp.

Accel is a leading US-based venture capital firm which has been amongst the first investors in fintech infrastructure companies such as Braintree and Galileo.

The Series A fundraising closed just over six months after Primer secured £3.8 million through its seed funding round led by Balderton Capital.

Founded by Paul Anthony and Gabriel Le Roux, Primer enables e-commerce merchants and online payments facilitators to consolidate their payments services stack, seamlessly connecting to third party services such as payment service providers (PSPs), fraud providers, chargeback services, subscription billing engines, business intelligence tools, loyalty and rewards platforms.

Primer’s unified payments integration, checkout experience and workflows functionality allows merchants to quickly add new payment methods, unify fraud mitigation efforts and build sophisticated transaction routing with no code.

Corporate partner Charlie Leveque and senior associate Tom Macleod led the Harbottle & Lewis team and were assisted by associate Chien-Wei Lui.

Co-founders Paul Anthony and Gabriel Le Roux commented:

“Charlie, Tom and the team at Harbottle have advised us every step of the way since we founded Primer. They are always extremely proactive, available and responsive and they get the deal done with commercial acumen and no fuss. This, our Series A fundraising, was no exception.”

Harbottle & Lewis advises Primer on £3.8 million fundraising

Posted on by Alex Molyneux

Harbottle & Lewis has advised UK fintech, Primer API Limited (Primer), on a £3.8 million fundraising led by Balderton Capital, a leading early-stage venture capital investor, with participation from Taavet Hinrikus, who co-founded TransferWise.

Founded by Paul Anthony and Gabriel Le Roux, Primer aims to help merchants consolidate their payments stack and easily support new payment methods in the future. In addition, Primer is looking to optimise cost and authorisation rates, reduce fraud, improve user experience and adapt to macro changes in the payments landscape.

Corporate partner Charlie Leveque and senior associate Tom Macleod led the Harbottle & Lewis team and were assisted by associate Chien-Wei Lui.

On working with the firm, co-founders Paul Anthony and Gabriel Le Roux commented:

“The team at Harbottle provided us with superb advice, clearly tailored to an early-stage disruptive technology company. They were highly responsive and their approach ensured a smooth process throughout.”