The corporate team at Gowling WLG advised Draper Esprit, one of Europe's leading venture capital firms, on the sale of Pod Point to EDF Energy.
Founded in 2009 by CEO and entrepreneur Erik Fairbairn and Chairman Peter Hiscocks, Pod Point is a leading provider of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and has rolled out 62,000 charging points in the UK and a further 6,600 in Norway. It offers charging solutions at home, at work and at destination and has developed an extensive public network connecting EV drivers with almost 3,000 charging bays across the UK, including at Tesco and Lidl shops, Center Parcs and a number of sites across Legal & General's extensive property portfolio.
Gowling WLG originally advised Draper Esprit on its Series A investment in Pod Point in 2017, and again during its follow-on investment whilst participating in the 2018 funding round, and are proud to have been able to consummate our involvement on the successful exit to EDF Energy.
EDF Energy acquired Pod Point for an undisclosed sum, but the sale provided Draper Esprit with a 2.3x return with an IRR of 39% over the three years since its first investment.
Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point CEO & Founder said: "This is an incredibly exciting next chapter for Pod Point. We set out in 2009 with the vision that travel shouldn't damage the earth and a mission to put a charge point everywhere you park. So far, we have made great progress towards those goals.
By joining up with EDF we can take things to the next level and accelerate our national roll out of charging points and make it even easier for drivers across the UK to go electric. I'm immensely proud of what the Pod Point team has already achieved but think it is only a fraction of what we will now be able to do with EDF. We just took a big step forward in being able to deliver against our mission!"
The team was led by Corporate Partner Kristian Rogers and Principal Associate Stephen Bowman.
Stephen Bowman said: "We are pleased to have supported Draper Esprit on its initial investments in Pod Point and the successful exit. Not only has the investment provided an important source of venture capital funding for a sector tasked with installing crucial infrastructure to enable the UK's transition to EVs, but Draper Esprit timed it incredibly well and ahead of the Government setting out its Industrial Strategies for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations in 2017 and the Clean Growth Strategy in October 2018 that set the blue-print for EV future".