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I am a partner in the Emerging Companies Team working with innovative companies. I love the ambition, energy and drive of the entrepreneurs behind these companies and the foresight and vision of those investors who support them.
I make it my mission to build lasting relationships with clients, providing a ‘corporate memory’ of their journey. I am often regarded as an extension to their management team. My market intelligence and extensive experience means I am regularly invited to meet with directors not just to provide legal advice but to give strategic input on particular issues.
I have an in depth specialism in advising IP-centric companies, having advised over 100 companies that started life as spin outs or start-ups from educational institutions.
My passion for advising disruptive and dynamic companies started with my role as a junior lawyer in KPMG’s Early Stage Advisory Team. It has been a fundamental focus of my career ever since. After nearly 20 years (and lots of war stories later) this passion still burns as brightly today as when I was newly qualified. Immediately prior to joining Taylor Vinters I was co-head of the Emerging Tech Team at Penningtons Manches Coopers. In January 2023 Taylor Vinters merged with Mishcon de Reya LLP.
I am a strong believer in giving back to the entrepreneurial community. I am a regular speaker on topics such as directors’ duties, structuring for growth and understanding the red herrings that can hide in cap tables. I have provided training for organisations including Oxford University Innovation, Innovate UK, Praxis AURIL, Venturefest and SheWorks.
I volunteer as a director on the board of two not-for-profit organisations Venturefest Oxford Limited and Techtonic both enterprises which have been established to stimulate and support innovation and entrepreneurial activity, the latter focussed on doing this in the context of increasing gender diversity within technology focussed careers.
I advise my clients on a range of matters including:
- Angel investments (including SEIS and EIS investments)
- Venture capital and private equity funding transactions from seed to exit
- Spin outs and start-ups from corporates, incubator and accelerator programmes, and higher education institutions
- Corporate governance, shareholder agreements and articles of association
- Strategic acquisitions
- Exits to domestic or overseas acquirers
One thing you may not know about me is I am a keen amateur photographer and spend a lot of my holidays travelling independently to destinations with a focus on wildlife and the natural world. Rumour also has it I am a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to juniper based spirits.