Bristol-based lawyers are working on an £800m funding deal

Lawyers at Osborne Clarke in Bristol advised Abound, the consumer arm of Fintern, one of the UK’s fastest growing fintechs, on its latest £800m funding round.

The fundraising – which brings the total raised by Abound to £1.3 billion – is one of the biggest so far in Europe this year.

It’s a mix of debt and equity, including a multi-year financing deal from existing financier Citi and a Series B equity round led by Silicon Valley-based GSR Ventures.

Abound will use the new funding to expand into prime lending in the UK and launch Render, its proprietary AI credit technology platform, globally.

Abound is leading the use of Open Banking and AI in consumer credit decision making. Its AI technology, Render, scans customer bank transaction data to understand each person’s unique financial situation and determine how much they can afford to repay each month. Abound’s mission is to drive financial inclusion by changing the way lending decisions are made so more people can access loans at rates they can afford to pay back.

The Osborne Clarke cross-service team assisting Fintern was led by Bristol partners Tom Bussy and James Taylor with senior associates Joe Roberts and Adam Turner and associates David Morgan and Olivier Jacquelin from the firm’s corporate and banking and finance teams, all based and in the firm’s Bristol office.

The fundraising marks the latest chapter in the long-term relationship between Osborne Clarke and Abound, with the Osborne Clarke team also advising on Abound’s £500m funding round last year.

Osborne Clarke’s international financial services team advises clients from start-ups, emerging/growth businesses and FinTech unicorns to challenger banks, payments, retail and consumer finance, platforms, large corporates and institutions as well as lenders, investors and industry bodies and regulators.

Osborne Clarke’s international venture capital team is also a core practice for companies operating in technology-based industries throughout their growth journey. Its dedicated resource center, OC Ventures, brings together experts from across the international network to provide clients with a seamless holistic service across the entire investment ecosystem.