Europe

Involved in a contract race and successfully exchanging contracts on a recently renovated duplex apartment in under 24 hours of receipt of the sale contract for £1.65m

A Cambridge-based clinical stage biotech company that leads in the inhibition of p300/CBP to treat multiple specific cancer types. CellCentric raised $33m to broaden clinical trials of its first-in-class p300/CBP inhibitor, CCS1477.  We advised CellCentric with respect to this equity funding round from Morningside Venture Investments Limited and BridgeEdge, the impact venture capital fund of the American Cancer Society

Our UK and Boston Life Sciences team acts as General Counsel for In3Bio, an international biotech company on all legal matters worldwide dealing with high value negotiations and contracts with third parties including pre-clinical trials and Phase III clinical trials.

NRG Therapeutics - We advised Parkinson's UK on its investment which formed part of the $18.3m (£16m) Series A funding round of NRG Therapeutics to help progress the development of mitochondrial therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative ailments such as Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Led by Omega Funds, the financing round also saw participation from new investor Brandon Capital. NRG Therapeutics is Cambridge based and leverages breakthrough science in the mitochondrial biology field to create disease-altering therapies to slow down or stop the progression of diseases such as Parkinson’s and ALS. This transaction combines the expertise of Wither Tech for venture capital and charities to help guide the innovative virtual biotech arm of Parkinson's UK in making this investment.  Wither tech team also advises Parkinson's UK on intellectual property matters such as IP protection and funding agreements.

Roslin Tech is an Edinburgh-based food and agritech company that spun out of the Roslin Institute and has developed pluripotent animal stem cells with the capacity to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into end-tissues for meat.  The Withers tech team has advised food and agritech company Roslin Technologies Limited, on their £11 million Series A funding round. The financing was led by Novo Holdings, joined by Kairos Capital Group, Future Planet Capital, Esco Lifesciences, Alchimia, Nutreco and private investors.  The Withers tech team also advises RoslinTech on commercial matters such as complex licensing and collaboration agreements and IP protection

In this complex case involving questions over economic duress and penalty issues, we successfully obtained a €172 million judgment on behalf of our client against the businessman, Lars Windhorst, and the Tennor Group. The judgment stemmed from a debt that arose out of Repo Transactions and a settlement agreement, the terms of which the Defendants failed to honour. 

We undertook research and liaised with the provider and with our US based colleagues to determine the position and enable the client to formulate an informed succession plan regarding the funds in question.

He had a diverse range of business interests held through a variety of trust structures established by him and his family. The client's previous adviser had retired and he asked us to conduct a review to ensure that he was compliant with his US tax reporting obligations and to advise on the evolution of his trust holding structures. This review was completed and to the client's satisfaction confirmed that he had no undiscovered liabilities. Since then we have worked with the client and his family to develop a plan for the future devolution of his wealth and the maintenance of his children.

While discussing the estate planning we drew his attention to potential issues that would arise from the way the sale deal was being structured and advised him to effect alternative structuring which resulted in him avoiding a potentially significant exposure to double taxation. We have since manage to assist him with appropriate structuring through which the family will organise philanthropic activities.

The team have undertaken structural planning projects involving the family's trust structures and for individual family members in the light of the current (and anticipated changes both in the US and UK) tax regimes of all the relevant jurisdictions, trust and investment issues arising from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the full spectrum of investments owned and taking into account the upcoming age of majority of some of the US/UK beneficiaries.

This advice was to eliminate large amounts of historic income and gains that otherwise would be adversely taxed at nearly confiscatory rates under the US 'throwback rules' when eventually distributed to US person beneficiaries who also are UK resident, while preserving the trust's favourable classification as an 'excluded property' and 'protected' trust for UK income, gains and inheritance tax purposes.

Advising on a payment services firm's acquisition of a competitor in the payments space.

Acted for Acin, a data standards firm that is digitising operational and non-financial risk, on its $12 million Series A financing led by Notion Capital, with other investors including Fitch Ventures.

Advising leading payments company, SaltPay on their global expansion across Europe and Africa.

Advising Arex European Market on its venture funding round from Lifeline Ventures, Initial Capital and others.

Advising on Arex European Market's platform collaboration and data sharing agreement with Xero. This involved Intellectual Property and data protection, banking and finance and financial services regulatory aspects.

Advising Decimal Factor Ltd, an innovative Fintech start-up which provides business funding to small businesses.

Advising lead investor, Draper Esprit, on the $125 million Series B financing of Thought Machine, a UK fintech building cloud-native technology for banks.

Advising Draper Esprit on a $50 million Series B investment into PrimaryBid, a British fintech platform that connects retail investors with public companies raising capital.

Advising Draper Esprit on the US$60 million Series B funding of FintechOS, a leading European fintech whose technology dramatically reduces the time it takes for financial institutions to build end-to-end digital products.

Advising lead investor, Gauss Ventures, on the $55 million Series B financing of Curve, a UK fintech whose platform consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one card and one app.

Advising Habito in connection with multiple funding rounds, including its £18.5 million (Series B) venture financing.

Advising leading payments company, SaltPay on their global expansion across Europe and Africa.

Advising Raisin on its expansion into the UK market.

Advising Ruth Parasols family office, RG Advisors, on their £25 million majority control investment into AIM listed financial services group, City of London Group plc for the purpose of funding the growth of a new challenger bank, Recognise which also saw Ms Parasol welcome return to the UK public markets.

Advised Wavemaker Partners as the lead investor in fintech start-up, CrediBook's Pre-Series A fundraising of USD 1.5 million this year with participation.

Advising Wise (TransferWise) in connection to multiple funding rounds, including its €280 million (Series E) venture financing. Also advising on their commercial and technology arrangements with third parties and successfully representing them in relation to numerous competitor disputes, as well as advising on and managing its global trade mark portfolio.

These projects involve the use of model form documents for development agreements, finance agreements and leases, which are tailored to reflect particular considerations in relation to the school or site in question.

We advised on their operations in the UK, particularly on employment status issues and TUPE.

We advised on the framework documentation and forms of call off contract for the procurement of professional services for a range of capital projects to service their estates.

We advised our client on the establishment and structure of a new international school including advice on corporate matters and funding arrangements.

We advised our client on on its acquisition of a leading UK university. This included establishing a new company to run the university and applying for that company to be registered with the Office for Students, awarded university title and degree awarding powers. We continue to advise the university itself on a number of matters following completion of the deal.

We advised a group of preschools on their lease of new school premises from a landlord, the takeover of assets from the previous tenant at the premises and the novation of tenancy agreements.

We advised a leading American University to renew its sponsor licence in order to enable the continued sponsorship of study abroad programs in the UK.

We assisted on its arrangements to establish international schools in Hong Kong and China.

We advised a leading London university on a new phase of student accommodation, including new build elements, renovation of a new listed student block, and design/installation of a combined heat and power facility to service the site.

Advising an academy on successfully securing an injunction and re-inspection where the academy contested the results of its initial OFSTED inspection. This was a ground breaking outcome.

We advised an education provider on the sale of three independent schools and the acquisition of two independent schools for one of the largest independent school groups in the UK.

Advising an independent school in central London on restructuring its governance arrangements.

We supported our client on their international fundraising projects.

We advised a French university on the registration of its French supporting foundation as a charity in the UK for tax purposes under the Finance Act 2010.

We advised Georgetown University on a range of issues relating to its two UK affiliates including immigration, data protection and structuring advice in relation to the Transnational Centre for Legal Studies.

We are proud to have advised this charity on protecting £10million of endowment funding for a multi academy trust with over 30 academies.

We supported a large London based educational institution who were facing a campaign of defamatory allegations.

We advised our client on the refurbishment of a listed building on the university's central London campus to provide a new law school, and advising the same university on construction and procurement matters associated with the further redevelopment of the same campus.

We advised this multi-academy trust on a merger joining six academies.

We advised him on his education projects, including legal support around the establishment and operation of two academies and a friends of charity.

We advised our client, an owner of a preparatory school in Oxfordshire, on the sale of his school to a private investor.

Advising our client on the potential creation of a new Permanent Private Hall within Oxford University.

We advised two community schools on all aspects of establishing a new charity and developing a purpose built community facility to provide adult education, a theatre, children's activities and hire spaces in a joint initiative between the schools and the local council.

in relation to its leasing matters in Hong Kong, Australia and U.K.

in the formation of a UK joint venture with an Australian listed property company for the development of a residential project in London.