Avery Law
A substantial reputation
Avery Law is a redefining boutique law firm for the changing legal-marketplace. The firm fully embraces a tech-enabled, lean and agile model, re-inventing the way in which sophisticated and value-driven advice is provided.
Expertise
Our broad industry knowledge enables us to assist you in managing day-to-day business challenges, developing long-term plans, proactively recognising opportunities, and implementing suitable legal solutions for your organisation and projects.
Corporate
The firm’s corporate practice is at the core of the firm. The firm has extensive experience of both small and large domestic and international cross-border transactions.
The firm provides a full corporate service to facilitate the structuring, development, management and successful outcome focused completion of domestic, international and cross-border corporate transactions.
The firm’s principal areas of corporate expertise include but are not limited to:
Investments and fundraising (seed, series, venture capital and private equity)
Mergers & acquisitions, takeovers and disposals
Joint ventures (both in the UK and cross-border internationally)
Insolvency and restructuring
Corporate real estate acquisitions and disposals
Fundraising/Venture Capital
The venture capital team at Avery Law provides commercially focused legal assistance throughout the investment lifecycle, from the establishment of investment structures to investment execution and exits.
We’ve been helping both startups and investors for many years and have a specialist understanding of the venture capital ecosystem.
With the support of our venture capital lawyers, you will benefit from our knowledge in order to streamline your investment transaction.
We’ll walk you through every stage of the investment process so that your company’s interests or your interests as either a founder or an investor are safeguarded.
We provide the legal groundwork for innovative start-ups to turn their ideas and potential into viable, long-term enterprises.
Banking and Finance
In addition to the firm’s corporate practice, the firm has an established and strong banking and finance practice with experience in acting for both corporate and high net worth private borrowers in both domestic and international financing.
The firm’s principal areas of banking and finance expertise include but are not limited to:
Start-up finance including bridge facilities and convertible loans / loan notes
Acquisition finance
Asset Finance
Real estate finance
Aviation finance
Restructuring
Derivatives and Structured Finance
The firm can advise on a wide range of banking documentation, including but not limited to: secured and unsecured facilities; term and revolving facilities; multi-currency facilities; guarantees, letters of credit; share charges; and debentures.
Commercial and IP
We frequently provide commercial advice to clients on the following:
Terms and conditions for the supply of goods or services (both for use offline and online on websites, platforms and smartphone apps)
Collaboration and joint venture agreements
Distribution and manufacture agreements
Commercial agency contracts
Web-related contracts and electronic signing platforms and formalities
We also have expertise advising on a range of intellectual property matters including the sale of and other forms of disposal of IP rights including warranty protection.
We also advise and provide on-going support to both individuals and business in the entertainment industry with a particular focus on music licensing.
Arbitration and Litigation
Our disputes team handles both domestic and complex international cases. Our team offers technical excellence with in depth understanding of the arbitral process to offer its clients outstanding results in a cost-effective manner. Although based in London, a significant amount of our work involves assisting our clients with litigation or arbitration internationally, by working closely with leading local law firms.
Our practice comprises highly skilled lawyers with a successful track record of acting in heavy weight and often politically sensitive international arbitrations across a range of specialist sectors. Our team includes multilingual arbitration specialists with both common law and civil law backgrounds.
We are committed to supporting our clients in the settlement of their disputes in a preventive manner. We work closely with our clients to understand their goals and manage the associated risks and opportunities.
Our disputes practice covers a wide range of industry sectors including energy, minerals and mining, finance, telecoms, commodities and shipping. We support and work closely as necessary with our firm’s corporate and M&A team in relation to joint venture, shareholder, founder and M&A disputes.
The firm also provides specialised insolvency and intellectual property litigation.
Financial Services Regulation
The world of financial services regulation is in a constant state of flux. With regulatory change comes opportunity. We can support you in your objective to meet financial services regulatory needs, ensure your staff are up to date with new and forthcoming regulatory requirements and report on new regulations.
More specifically, we can provide you with advice and assistance in the following areas:
Advice on the impact of the Financial Services and Market Act 2000, its subordinate legislation and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Rules on a firm’s business
Advice on the impact of changing regulation on your clients business practices (e.g the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive)
Advice on compliance with anti-money laundering legislation
Assistance with the PRA and FCA authorisation processes for firms and approval process for individuals
Advising on whether a business process requires PRA and/or FCA authorisation
Drafting and negotiating FCA compliant distribution and outsourcing agreements
Advising on the regulatory aspects of M&A transactions involving financial institutions
Drafting customer terms of business that comply with FCA Rules (in particular, Treating Customers Fairly) and consumer protection legislation
Financial promotions and other client facing documentation
Advising on the impact of e-money and e-commerce regulations on a client’s business
Drafting compliance policies and procedures.We can help guide you through the complex regulatory landscape. We advise on the impact of current and future financial services legislation and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Rules and assist with the PRA and FCA authorisation / control processes for firms and approval process for individuals
Employment
We advise in relation to a broad range of employment matters. We have extensive experience in a range of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters including the conducting of and advocacy in employment related litigation in the Employment Tribunal. We advise on all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, TUPE, whistleblowing protection, sickness absence and redundancy. We act for both employer and employees.
Advising on various workplace issues including sickness absence, disability, conduct, TUPE, redundancy, etc
Advising senior executives on the termination of their employment, including negotiating favourable terms in relation to restrictive covenants, share options and other benefits
Drafting documents including settlement agreements, employment agreements and director service agreements, company handbooks, consultancy agreements, restrictive covenants, secondment agreements and policies
Providing corporate support on various deals including preparing due diligence reports, reviewing employment aspects of SPAs, drafting service agreements and settlement agreements, etc
Tax
We advise businesses and their stakeholders on tax issues.
Set up and advice on structure, including advise on structuring private equity funds and SEIS, EIS and VCT funds
Tax aspects of investment, including SEIS/EIS. Advising both shareholders and companies on investments.
Reconstructions and reorganisations
Employee incentives and share option schemes and all aspects of employment related securities
M&A including negotiation of tax covenants and tax warranties and the exercise of share options on an exit and the claiming of relevant reliefs as a result of such exercise
CoSec
Our CoSec service provides you with real-time electronic company management. We manage your company so you can run your business.
Management of corporate information
Real time visibility
Connected to Companies House
Share certificates
SEIS/EIS certificates
Electronically maintained Company Registers
Companies House automated filings
Pre-emption process
Exportable at any time (pdf/csv)
Audit trail
Document storage for due diligence
Grant access to third parties
Sync with third party filing systems
Stakeholder communication
Corporate real estate acquisitions and disposals
Pricing
Our CoSec service is priced on an annual subscription model:
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Avery Law advises Zvilo on its €50m Debt Facility from Fasanara Capital
Our client Zvilo, the credit-led digital bank for the Balkans and emerging markets, has today announced it has secured a debt facility of €50m from Fasanara Capital — an independent, owner-managed alternative asset management company. This follows its announcement that terms had been signed earlier in the year.
This debt facility will allow Zvilo to rapidly scale and subsequently expand its provision of working capital for the 800,000+ SMEs situated in the Balkans. This is vital, as even before the surge in energy costs, c.40% of SMEs in the Balkans sought loans to expand their operations. However, high collateral requirements in the Balkans (almost 200%* of loan value) make financing inaccessible, particularly for SMEs. An alternative financial provider like Zvilo is needed now more than ever as the higher cost of energy is making it harder for SMEs to maintain their liquidity and run a sustainable business, not to mention the increased cost of inputs for those who import and are in production.
Admir Imami, Chairman of Zvilo, commented: “The heart of our business proposition is to dramatically transform the financial landscape of the SMEs in the Balkans by providing short-term working capital facilities without the need of traditional collateral and paper trails that SMEs are currently subject to.
“We aim to offer bridge capital to those businesses seeking to finance trade flows originating in and from the Balkans; all automated through Zvilo’s proprietary platform, which combines scale and accessibility from the outset.”
Shahem Samain, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of Zvilo added: “Over the past year Zvilo has made huge strides forward in delivering for businesses in the Balkans. Not only have we secured our lending (factoring) license from the Central Bank of Kosovo, but we also have a digital finance solution available for the tens of thousands of SMEs who need help, especially now given the constraints related to the increase of the cost of energy.
Francesco Filia, CEO at Fasanara Capital, commented: “We have a long history in providing working capital financing solutions to SMEs globally, ensuring companies can make seamless, sustainable, and quicker funding decisions. Zvilo is a start-up making waves in a region where traditional banking models rule.
“We believe in Zvilo’s proposition and their promise to transform the way local SMEs can raise business finance through its platform. We are glad to be part of their journey and support their vision.”
“We are delighted to have secured this facility given it is a huge endorsement of our management and the willingness of the international investor community to back the team and invest in the Balkan market. Our accessible, seamless, and sustainable funding solution will help these SMEs with the liquidity required to reach their pre-Covid trading levels while also taking advantage of our digital financial product offering,” concluded Mr Imami.
About Fasanara Capital
Fasanara Capital is an independent, owner-managed alternative asset management company authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Co-founded by Francesco Filia in 2011, Fasanara is based in London with alliance offices in Milan. Fasanara offers access to a range of inventive multi-asset capacity-constrained niche products. Fasanara’s unorthodox portfolio construction and unconventional investment strategy is a response to today’s transformational markets.
About Zvilo
Zvilo is a credit-led digital bank for the Balkans and emerging markets, offering low fees and providing seamless connectivity and accessible credit. Zvilo will be the first of its kind in the Western Balkans, its first market, where users have limited access to credit and are subject to the highest banking fees in Europe. Through innovative solutions, Zvilo plans to increase financial inclusivity for the 21 million Balkan people, also providing financial literacy to the c.40% that remains unbanked. Zvilo is set to become the leading digital financial platform offering both business and personal products through its dedicated app.
Shahem Samian, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer at Zvilo has provided a testimonial of our services on Google:
“We’ve been very fortunate to have Avery Law as our legal counsel, assisting us on everything from debt & equity raises, commercial agreements, corp secretary services, HR, etc. They are very dependable, always providing exceptional quality deliverables, while also being efficient and maintaining clear communication with us. Above everything, their advice always provides a real value add. Highly recommended! Special thanks to David, Jessica, Eric and Bjorn :)”
Deal team:
Bjorn Benckert / David Turney / Jessica Coventry / Eric Lewin
Our vision was – and remains – to create a disruptive, innovative and lean (low-overhead, technology-driven) boutique law firm in London to challenge the market.
Primary Location London