Fox Williams advised international venture capital firm yabeo on its investment in digital mortgage lender Molo as part of a £266m debt and equity funding.
The capital raise, which completed on 5 October 2020, comes after a first tranche of £10m for the Series A round that closed in January 2020, on which Fox Williams also advised yabeo.
The investment was led by Macquarie and Patron Capital, a pan-European institutional investor focused on property-backed investments. The equity round was led by yabeo and supported by existing shareholders Andenes Investments, GPS Ventures and others.
The new funding will be used to accelerate Molo’s growth through additional online lending and investment in its proprietary technology and new product propositions.
Molo has experienced significantly higher volumes of online mortgage applications post Covid which point to the growing popularity of digital lending. In August and September alone, it says its pipeline of buy to let mortgage applications exceeded £500m.
Gerrit Seidel, MD of yabeo, said; “The mortgage markets globally and particularly in the UK, are the largest financial services segments. Dominated still by traditional banking incumbents and brokerage set-ups, the market is ready for accelerated disruption, unlocking significant cost efficiencies and enabling consumer friendly online mortgage solutions. Molo is best equipped to spearhead these developments in the UK.”
The Fox Williams team was led by Richie Clark, Head of corporate, principally assisted by corporate associate Freddie De Boise and tax partner Emma Bailey.
Richie Clark commented: “We were delighted to help yabeo successfully lead this significant investment round to enable Molo to continue its growth phase. The investment highlighted Fox Williams’ expertise in venture capital fundraisings in the FinTech sector.
Samuel Schuler, Principal of yabeo, said “The Fox Williams team once again made us feel well taken care of throughout the process and proved to be a strong partner and trusted advisor for whenever we make investments in the UK. They showed great skill, professionalism, and, yes, creativity!”