The corporate team at national law firm Shoosmiths has advised London-and New York based Venture Capital firm, Octopus Ventures, on its leading a $22m funding round into Outfittery, a curated shopping service for men's clothing.
Outfittery has now raised $59.81m in total, in five rounds from 12 investors, including an Italian investor group which incorporates several family offices tied to the fashion industry in the country. Existing investors Northzone Capital, Highland Europe, Holtzbrinck Ventures and Mangrove Capital Partners also participated on this round.
Outfittery is a service designed to make it easier for men to shop for fashion online. Customers simply answer a few questions about their clothing style and sizes at www.outfittery.com. Outfittery's style experts then personally contact them and put together individual outfits which are conveniently shipped to their homes. Customers keep whatever they like and send the rest back.
The Berlin-based company was founded in 2012 by Julia Bo#sch and Anna Alex. Style experts are solely dedicated to their customers and over 100 high-quality fashion brands are currently on offer. The Company is currently active in eight countries.
It is planned that the Company will use the funds to expand in Europe and improve customer experience.
Shoosmiths corporate partner, Alastair Peet and solicitor Rachel Seaton advised on all corporate aspects of the deal, with assistance from partner Peter Christian Schmidt and associate Philip Kümper at German law firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek. Both firms are members of the World Services Group.
Rebecca Hunt, investment manager at Octopus Ventures, said: 'We have a fantastic relationship with Shoosmiths - in a deal such as this, it's important to have lawyers who understand our approach and, most importantly, our business. Investing in Outfittery was thrilling for us because we can see its potential.'
Alastair Peet, corporate partner at Shoosmiths, said: 'Delivering a great client experience is what we pride ourselves on and learning about the business our clients are in is all part of that journey. We are pleased to have played a part in this deal and to have advised Octopus once again on its investment into such an innovative business.'
Shoosmiths' corporate team has advised public and private companies, management teams, investors and debt providers through the business life cycle. Shoosmiths work with businesses from start-up and first round finance through to mergers and acquisitions, MBO and MBI transactions, development funding and on exits, by way of sale, listing or private equity investment.
The national corporate team has been placed second by deal volume in Experian's UK Deal Review and Advisor League Table and have recently won Law Firm of the Year at the M&A Awards 2015.
