Contributors
International law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has advised the UK's first app-based bank on a successful fundraise of £100m in new equity capital.
The firm has assisted long-standing client Atom bank on its latest fundraising round, which has seen the bank raise capital from long-term shareholders BBVA, Toscafund, and Infinity Investment Partners in what is believed to be the largest private capital raise by a digital bank in the UK this year.
This latest fundraising forms part of Atom’s long-term strategy to deliver a liquidity event in the future, with the WBD team involved in the transaction having now advised on more than £600m of capital fundraisings for the bank.
The WBD team was led by corporate partner Ben Butler and managing associate Oliver Rickett, with support from solicitor Saba Mahmood, as well as members of WBD's financial services regulatory team led by associate Lucy Hadrill and legal director Emma Radmore.
Laura Farnworth, General Counsel at Atom, said:
"This successful fundraising is a strong vote of confidence in Atom from our investors, and we are grateful to the team at Womble Bond Dickinson for their support in getting this complex deal finalised and helping us continue on our vision to change banking for good, for the better, for everyone.
Womble Bond Dickinson has been a key partner since the bank was founded in 2014, and their knowledge and understanding of our business and the wider market across both financial institutions and fintech has been invaluable as we have continued to drive growth."
The funds, which will be used to accelerate lending and balance sheet growth, come after Atom announced its first year of operating profit, with a revenue growth of 62 per cent and customer numbers doubling to 224,000.
Ben Butler, Partner and National Head of Corporate at WBD, commented:
"It is always a pleasure to be involved with companies which challenge the status quo, and we are thrilled to have advised our long-standing client Atom on this major milestone.
This fundraising will allow Atom to take a major step forward in scaling up its business while providing market-leading solutions for consumers and businesses, and we look forward to working further with them as they continue to challenge the traditional notion of what a bank is."
