Foot Anstey advises Quilam Capital on tech product company Raylo, and SME loan business Merchant Money

By Nicky Godding

21 February 2023

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Bristol-headquartered national law firm, Foot Anstey LLP, has advised Quilam Capital, which provides financial solutions coupled with expert guidance to businesses operating in the speciality finance market, on the equity aspects of its investments in Raylo and Merchant Money.

Established in 2017, Quilam Capital supports its portfolio in accelerating business growth, accessing external funding and refining strategic direction through dedicated senior supportand bespoke capital solutions.

The Foot Anstey team included Matthew Stoate (Head of Corporate and Private Equity), Dominic Cromwell (Senior Associate) and Benjamin Smith (Trainee Solicitor).

Quilam Capital's investment into Raylo, a leading fintech that provides consumers with access to high value tech products on affordable monthly subscriptions, is part of a £110M debt financing facility from NatWest and Quilam Capital to support ambitious growth plans. Raylo's subscriber base has grown 100% year on year and the company expects growth to accelerate in light of current economic conditions.

Merchant Money, a provider of secured and unsecured loans to SMEs across the UK, has secured £115m of additional funding from Barclays Bank PLC and Quilam Capital which will enable it to grow its lending books across its secured and unsecured product offerings.

Jordan Blakesley, Director at Quilam Capital who led the Raylo investment said: "We at Quilam are very pleased to be supporting Raylo’s management team who have developed a dynamic and highly scalable platform. The size of the opportunity is very compelling and by joining forces with NatWest and existing global investors, we look forward to realising Raylo’s ambitious growth goals over the coming years. We were very impressed by the work carried out by Foot Anstey; the team were pragmatic and responsive throughout both transactions whilst always remaining commercial in their approach."

Matt Glew, Director at Quilam Capital who led the Merchant Money investment said:“We are very happy to be supporting Merchant Money into what we expect to be a very exciting next stage of its journey. Despite the current headwinds, there remains significant market opportunity in the SME space which the business is now in a prime position to fully capitalise on. We have been very impressed by the ambitions of the management team and are looking forward to seeing our capital deployed in order to help achieve their goals.”

Dominic Cromwell, Senior Associate at Foot Anstey said: "We were delighted to advise Quilam Capital on these investment opportunities. Quilam Capital's pro-active and flexible approach makes it an attractive and credible alternative to traditional lenders, and we look forward to continuing to support the team on future opportunities."

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.