Taylor Wessing and HSF advise on Lloyds investment in cloud banking platform
Taylor Wessing and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) are advising on Lloyds Banking Group’s £11m investment in UK banking software company Thought Machine.
Thought Machine offers alternative cloud-based platforms for bank's software systems and Lloyds will acquire a 10% stake in the company through its investment.
Taylor Wessing is advising Thought Machine on the deal, with London corporate technology partner Angus Miln acting.
Thought Machine offers an alternative to “legacy IT systems which are fundamentally not fit for purpose,” says Miln.
He told Legal Week: "The reason Thought Machine is such an exciting prospect for banks because it’s designed as a modern, fit for purpose and cloud-native application."
Taylor Wessing built a relationship with Thought Machine CEO Paul Taylor after the firm advised Google on the acquisition of Taylor's company Phonetic Arts in 2010.
HSF is advising Lloyds with finance partner Barnaby Hinnigan leading the team.
The Anglo-Australian firm has recently represented Spanish utilities provider Red Electrica on the world's first blockchain negotiated syndicated loan.
The £130m transaction took place between Spanish bank BBVA, co-lenders BNP Paribas and MUFG, and Red Electrica Corporation – Spain’s national electric grid provider.
Linklaters Madrid partner Juan Barona advised BBVA and the co-lenders, with HSF Madrid finance head Gonzalo Martin De Nicolas and financial services regulatory head Leopoldo Gonzalez-Echenique acting for Red Electrica.
