National law firm Foot Anstey, which has an office in Bristol, has advised on two major investments by Quilam Capital, a provider of funding and expert guidance to businesses operating in the speciality finance market.
Its investments in fintech Raylo and Merchant Money, a UK-wide business lender, are the latest by London-based Quilam, which was established in 2017. 
It supports its portfolio businesses by helping them accelerate their business growth, access external funding and refine their strategic direction through dedicated senior support and bespoke capital solutions.
The Foot Anstey team advising on the pair of transactions included head of corporate and private equity Matthew Stoate, senior associate Dominic Cromwell and trainee solicitor Benjamin Smith.
Quilam Capital’s investment in London-based Raylo, a leading fintech that provides consumers with access to high-value tech products on affordable monthly subscriptions, is part of a £110m debt financing facility from NatWest and Quilam Capital to support ambitious growth plans.
Quilam said the financing package was a strong validation of Raylo’s business model and its position at the forefront of developing and accelerating the circular economy.
Raylo’s subscriber base has grown 100% year on year and the company expects growth to accelerate in light of current economic conditions.
Merchant Money, a provider of secured and unsecured loans to SMEs across the UK, secured £115m of additional funding from Barclays Bank and Quilam, which will enable it to grow its lending books across its secured and unsecured product offerings.
Merchant Money has been providing secured and unsecured business loans to SMEs on a UK-wide basis since 2013.
The business, which secured British Business Bank accreditation for CBILS & RLS lending respectively, added bridging and secured loans to its offering in 2020, an area in which it has achieved good success to date.
Quilam Capital director Jordan Blakesley, who led the Raylo investment, said: “We at Quilam are very pleased to be supporting Raylo’s management team who have developed a dynamic and highly scalable platform.
“The size of the opportunity is very compelling and by joining forces with NatWest and existing global investors, we look forward to realising Raylo’s ambitious growth goals over the coming years.
“We were very impressed by the work carried out by Foot Anstey; the team were pragmatic and responsive throughout both transactions whilst always remaining commercial in their approach.”
Quilam Capital director Matt Glew, who led the Merchant Money investment, added: “We are very happy to be supporting Merchant Money into what we expect to be a very exciting next stage of its journey.
“Despite the current headwinds, there remains significant market opportunity in the SME space which the business is now in a prime position to fully capitalise on.
“We have been very impressed by the ambitions of the management team and are looking forward to seeing our capital deployed in order to help achieve their goals.”
Foot Anstey senior associate Dominic Cromwell said: “We were delighted to advise Quilam Capital on these investment opportunities.
“Quilam Capital’s pro-active and flexible approach makes it an attractive and credible alternative to traditional lenders, and we look forward to continuing to support the team on future opportunities.”
Foot Anstey, which also has offices in Exeter, London, Plymouth, Southampton, Taunton and Truro, advises clients in sectors spanning development, energy and infrastructure to Islamic finance and retail and consumer.
Pictured below: Dominic Cromwell, Matthew Stoate and Benjamin Smith
