The fintech team of international law firm Simmons and Simmons LLP has advised German retailer, Metro Group on its equity investment in Yoyo Wallet, the fast-growing mobile payments and customer engagement platform, as part of a funding round.
Yoyo Wallet is one of the fastest growing and largest multi-retailer mobile wallets in the UK. Founded in 2013 by Alain Falys, Michael Rolph and Dave Nicholson, it was recently chosen by Marketing Week as one of the Top 100 Disruptor Brands and by KPMG as one of 50 FinTechs to watch globally.

Now in its fourth year, Yoyo Wallet powers retailer experiences across the UK on the high street, in universities and corporate locations. The app provides a combination of fast and simple-to-use mobile payment, ordering, and personalised loyalty and reward programs, all backed by an analytics and campaign platform for retailers.

The investment was led by the investment arm of Metro Group’s digital unit and demonstrates its continued strategy to back digital business models helping hospitality and retail businesses improve their earnings potential through advanced digital tools.

The Simmons & Simmons team was led by partner Dr. Christian Bornhorst with Dr. Michael Bormann in Dusseldorf. Patrick Graves, Daniel Whitewood, James Agnew, Ben Player, Joanna Lindley, Joanna Amess, Kelly Marshall and Sebastian Godolphin also supported from the UK.

The round was supported by other financial investors, including Woodford investment management and Touchstone Innovations (an AIM-listed venture firm), and completion is subject to certain closing conditions including approval by the Financial Conduct Authority.

You can read more about the transaction in the Financial Times here.