Lawtech startup raises £15m to tackle money laundering risk

A lawtech startup which has grown from nothing to 700 clients in three years has raised £15m in venture capital to develop its product further. London-based Thirdfort, which supplies an ‘onboarding’ app for verifying clients’ identities, claims law firms DAC Beachcroft, Penningtons Manches Cooper and Mishcon de Reya among its users. 

Co-founder and managing director Olly Thornton-Berry told the Gazette that the ‘series A (third stage) funding’ would support the development of the system to handle source-of-funds checks and verification of corporate clients. Risks in both areas have been highlighted over the past week by the political and media outcry about the handling of 'oligarch money' by UK professional services firms. 

Thirdfort’s functions will also be expanded to handle the secure transfer of funds from client to professional. 'We see a huge opportunity, both in the UK and internationally, for a seamless and flexible platform that enables these businesses and their clients to move fearlessly,' Thornton-Berry said. 

The fundraising was led by Breega, a pan-European venture capital business. Another investor is Element Ventures, a London-based fund focused on 'fintech'.

Privately-held Thirdfort’s business has grown tenfold in revenue and people since January 2020; the company plans to expand its team of 94 to 150 by the end of 2022. It is one of several startups to take advantage of the ‘open banking’ initiative, which enables consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises to share their bank and credit card transaction data securely with trusted third parties. It was also an early graduate of the ‘Geovation’ incubator scheme, set up by Ordnance Survey and HM Land Registry to encourage new business ideas based on geographical information.