29/07/2021

Advising investors on £1.5m Riversimple funding round

Leading sustainable vehicle manufacturer, Riversimple, has secured a £580,000 investment from Angels Invest Wales with a syndicate of Welsh business angels. Match funding of £250,000 is coming from the Wales Angel Co-investment Fund which is managed by the Development Bank of Wales.

Cath James and Laura Spendiff, from Capital Law’s corporate team, advised both the Development Bank of Wales and the syndicate investors, led by Andrew Diplock, on this £1.5 million funding round which will help power customer trials of Welsh hydrogen cars. The investment is also the cornerstone of a crowdfunding campaign, launched by Seedrs, which has achieved advanced approval from HMRC for the Enterprise Investment Scheme giving tax incentives for qualifying investors.

Riversimple will use the funding to build vehicles for customer trials that began earlier this year in Abergavenny. The funds will also enable the company to draw down grants that have already been awarded by the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles for the trials and by Innovate UK for participation in the Milford Haven Energy Kingdom, a green hydrogen energy system which includes heating, power and personal transportation.

Lead investor and entrepreneur, Andrew Diplock, said:

Riversimple is a perfect example of the kind of businesses that we need to invest in now: forward-thinking, sustainable, and with a proven technology that can scale globally to have real positive impact on our society and environment. Having worked with Capital Law many times before on similar deals, I knew how valuable their legal expertise and thorough understanding of the energy market would be – and they did not disappoint.

Capital Law’s Cath James added:

Riversimple is a Welsh-grown business pioneering sustainable solutions and this funding round is key to developing a green economy that’s not only sustainable, but also profitable. We’re really pleased to have been able to support this and work with Andrew Diplock and the Angel Co-Investment Fund again.