The Bristol-based venture capital team at international legal practice Osborne Clarke has completed two investment deals totalling £15m involving fast-growing brands.
Its lawyers advised funders BGF and CPT Capital on an £11m equity round for THIS, a plant-based, meat alternative brand, and handled a £4m growth capital investment from Mobeus for Vet’s Klinic. 
The THIS investment is the UK’s highest ever series A fundraising round for a plant-based meat brand and will support the rapid growth of the business and the expansion of its research and development capabilities while helping to bring to market a pipeline of new products and distribution points across the UK.
Swindon-based Vet’s Klinic’s investment will further develop its unique experience for pets and pet owners.
Its surgeries feature glass-fronted treatment areas, an industry-leading booking system, real-time video and photo updates to pets’ medical records and a large-scale team of veterinary experts.
London-based THIS was founded in 2019 following two years of extensive research and development with a team of food scientists. Its products were created as alternatives designed to replicate the taste, texture and flavour of popular meat products.
It has since sold 22m portions of its products, which have been stocked in nearly 9,000 retail distribution points, including in all four of the UK’s major grocers and restaurants such as Prezzo, Pho and Honest Burgers – giving it an annual growth rate of 633%.
As a result, THIS has saved 6.7m kilograms of CO2 when compared with production of equivalent real meat.
The UK market for plant-based meat alternatives is valued at £566m and growing at 17% annually. Globally it is worth £2.9bn.
The Osborne Clarke deal team was led by associate director James Taylor alongside partners Simon Jones, pictured, and Mathias Loertscher, and associate Josephine Healy.
The market for pet-related services has grown during the pandemic, with 3.2m households adopting a domestic animal since March last year.
To meet this demand, Vet’s Klinic will use the funding to roll out a further four ‘super klinics’ along the M4 corridor.
The Osborne Clarke team advising Vet’s Klinic also included Simon Jones and James Taylor with senior associate Jack Wellington and associate Sara De Rinaldis from the firm’s corporate team.
Osborne Clarke’s international venture and growth capital practice is widely recognised as a market leader. The venture capital team is ranked tier one by the Legal 500 directory and has experts across London, the Thames Valley and Bristol.
It has a track record in advising start-ups, global market leaders, angel investors and institutional venture capital/growth capital investors on funding rounds, follow-on rounds, venture debt facilities, IPOs(initial public offerings), trade sales and buy-and-build projects.
