Bristol-based lawyers at international legal practice Osborne Clarke have advised BGF and CPT Capital on an £11 million equity fundraising round for THIS, a plant-based, meat alternative brand.

The new investment, which is the UK’s highest ever series A fundraising round for a plant-based meat brand, will support the rapid growth of the business, the expansion of its R&D capabilities and help to bring to market a pipeline of new products and distribution points across the UK.

THIS was founded in June 2019 by Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman. Following two years of extensive research and development with a team of food scientists, its products were created as alternatives designed to replicate the taste, texture and flavour of popular meat products.

In under two years, THIS has been stocked in over 8,900 retail distribution points (an annual growth rate of 633 per cent) in all four of the UK’s major grocers. The products also feature in outlets including Prezzo, Pho and Honest Burgers. The brand has sold 22 million portions of its products – enough to feed the populations of Greece and Portugal combined. As a result, THIS is making a positive impact on the environment having saved 6.7million kilograms of CO2 (when compared with production of equivalent real meat).

In the UK the market for plant-based meat alternatives is now valued at $4.2bn globally and at $0.8bn in the UK, growing at 17 per cent annually.

The Osborne Clarke deal team was led by Bristol-based associate director James Taylor alongside partners Simon Jones and Mathias Loertscher, and associate Josephine Healy.

Osborne Clarke’s international venture capital practice is widely recognised as a leading European law firm for companies operating in the retail and consumer sector. The venture capital team is ranked tier one by The Legal 500 and has experts across London, the Thames Valley and Bristol. It has an outstanding track record advising start-ups, global market leaders, angel investors and institutional VC/growth capital investors on funding rounds, follow-on rounds, venture debt facilities, IPOs, trade sales and buy and  build projects.