Howard Palmer

Howard is recognised as on the of the UK's leading advisers on venture capital investments, especially on deals in the cleantech and fintech sectors.

He specialises in advising on both M&A and venture capital investments, working for both companies and investors. Clients say they value his meticulous and highly practical advice.

Howard primarily works with companies from the technology, media and life sciences sectors.

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Career

Since 2006	Partner, Taylor Wessing
1995 - 2006	Partner, Olswang

Education

1993	Admitted as a lawyer, England & Wales
1991	Law school finals, Guildford Law School
1990	LLB degree, University of Warwick

Publications

PLC Cross-Border Handbooks, Venture Capital, 2010

Expertise

Sectors Technology, media & communications Energy & infrastructure Fintech Cryptoassets, blockchain and distributed ledger technology

Experience

Early-stage tech investor Dawn Capital on its investments into Firebolt Analytics, Inc and Copper Technologies (UK) Limited	Longstanding client Dawn Capital, on their investments into Firebolt Analytics, Inc as part of its US$127 million Series B fundraising and Copper Technologies (UK) Limited as part of its U$50 million Series B fundraising.
Nutmeg on its acquisition by JPMorgan Chase	Long-standing client Nutmeg Saving and Investment Limited, one of the UK’s leading digital wealth managers, on its sale to JPMorgan Chase. The acquisition positions Nutmeg, with over 140,000 investors and £3.5 billion AUM, as an integral part of the bank’s international offering and complements the launch of Chase as a digital bank in the UK.
Early-stage tech investor Dawn Capital on its secondary purchase of shares from shareholders of Dataiku Inc.	This values Dataiku at over USD1 billion. This is one of a long line of deals that Taylor Wessing has advised Dawn Capital on having also advised Dawn Capital on its participation in the EUR 90 million funding round for European open banking platform Tink; and its participation in the £29m Series B round for natural language processing company Eigen Technologies.

World's longest standing cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp, sells 80% stake to NXMH	We advised on the 80% sale of Bitstamp to Brussels-based investment firm, NXMH. Founded in the UK in 2011, Bitstamp is the world's longest standing cryptocurrency exchange and the EU's largest by volume, with more than three million registered customers.
Monese secures USD60million Series B funding round	Monese, the app-based banking service which offers current account and money transfer services on its latest funding round. Investors include PayPal, International Airlines Group via its loyalty and data business Avios Group, Kinnevik and Augmentum Fintech. Monese offers its users the ability to open a UK bank account without the requirment of holidng a UK address.
Series E fundraising of GBP45 million for Nutmeg	Longstanding client Nutmeg, on their Series E fundraising of GP45m led by Goldman Sachs, which is the largest raise into a European Digital Wealth Manager in history.

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Awards

Legal Week British Legal Awards	Corporate M&A Team of the Year (Mid sized deal) - Bitstamp on its 80% sale to NXMH
Legal Week British Legal Awards 2019	Corporate M&A Team of the Year (Mid-sized deal): Advising Bitstamp on its 80% sale to Brussels-based investment firm NXMH.
Chambers UK 2020	Leading individual - Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment (Band 3)
Chambers UK 2020	Leading individual - Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market (Band 3): Howard Palmer focuses his practice on venture capital investments occurring in the cleantech and fintech spaces. He represents both investors and investees, and offers additional capabilities in M&A.
Chambers UK 2019	Leading individual - Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment (Band 2): Howard Palmer is adept in an array of venture capital investment matters, and acts for both funders and companies seeking finance. He is particularly active in the fintech, cleantech, media and communications fields.
Chambers UK 2018	Leading individual - Private Equity (Venture Capital Investments) (Band 2): Howard Palmer has a wealth of expertise in a broad range of early-stage venturing transactions, applying his "huge intellect" to matters in the fintech, cleantech, media and communications fields. Sources praise his "meticulous" counsel, with clients appreciating his "good, sound advice that's always practical."