Lawyers from the Bristol office of international legal practice Osborne Clarke have advised on the introduction of a $250m (£189m) fund aimed at backing purpose-driven technology founders.
Some $100m of the total will act as a seed fund to back 25 early-stage companies while $150m will be a climate-focused growth fund filling a major Series B climate funding gap and providing scale-up capital to the world’s leading climate technology firms.
The fund has been started by London, Los Angeles and Copenhagen-based Giant Ventures, which has already made 10 investments from it and is on track to deploy more than $1bn into sustainable technology this decade.
Giant Ventures was advised on the launch by a team from Osborne Clarke led by funds partner Helen Parsonage and senior associate George Skinner, while partner Erika Jupe and legal director Elizabeth Shanahan advised Giant Ventures on the tax aspects of the fundraisings.
Giant Ventures head of finance & operations Rob Hicks said: “Osborne Clarke has been by Giant’s side since the early days, providing invaluable legal and tax services throughout the fundraising journey.
“We have built a strong relationship with Helen, George and the rest of the OC team and value their diligent and proactive approach.”
Partner Helen Parsonage, pictured, added: “We are delighted to have helped Giant with these latest fundraises, having enjoyed working with them since inception.
“It’s great to see them successfully raising in this difficult market, with some great limited partners coming on board.”
Giant Ventures, which is at the forefront of supporting the most ambitious founders using technology as a force for good, has attracted capital from a broad alliance of leading institutional investors ranging from BMW and Henkel to Denmark’s sovereign investment fund and The Nature Conservancy, the US-headquartered global environmental organisation.
Osborne Clarke, which employs around 800 people in Bristol and also has UK offices in London and Reading, is widely recognised as a leading European law firm for companies operating in the technology, media and telecoms sector. It works with global businesses, fast-growth start-ups and market challengers.
