Charles Russell Speechlys advises Puma Private Equity on its investment into Aveni as part of an £11m investment round
Charles Russell Speechlys has advised long-standing client Puma Private Equity on an investment into Aveni, an award-winning AI FinTech company.
This £11m investment is one of the largest Series A investments in a Scottish business this year. The funding round was led by Puma Private Equity with participation from Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and existing investors Par Equity and Scottish Enterprise. This investment will enable Aveni to build on the success of existing products, further establishing its presence across the financial services sector and introducing revolutionary technology through the creation of FinLLM, a financial services specific large language model.
Puma Private Equity offers growth capital and expertise to best-in-class, ambitious businesses across the UK, irrespective of sector, and works in partnership with management to help businesses scale and create long-term value. It aims to deliver insight, expertise and a fresh perspective to the portfolio companies it partners with. Having invested in, and worked with, a breadth of companies in a range of sectors from consumer e-commerce to fleet transport safety and influencer marketing, Puma Private Equity has deep insights and experience in scaling businesses for growth and where desired, successful sale and exit.
Ben Leslie, Investment Director, Puma Private Equity, commented:
“Thank you to David, Ashwin, Caroline, and the wider team. We are delighted to be backing Aveni and can always rely on the Charles Russell Speechlys team to deliver exceptional service and technical advice.”
Ashwin Pillay, Corporate Senior Associate, commented:
“It is always a pleasure working with Ben and the team at Puma Private Equity and we are excited to see how this injection of capital helps drive AI solutions in the financial services industry.”
The team was led by Corporate Partner David Coates and Senior Associate Ashwin Pillay and Commercial Partner Caroline Young with support from Associates Iwan Thomas and Anna Schwarze. The wider team included Ilona Bateson and Victor Mound (Commercial), Nick Hurley and Tilly Whittingham (Employment), and Robert Birchall and Tess Newman (Tax).
