Reward Finance provides £530,000 cash injection helps law firm continue AI product development

A Tunbridge-Wells law firm, specialising in commercial and employment law primarily within technology firms, has secured funding of £530,000 from Reward Finance Group to launch its new AI product, which allows contract creation, review and management, with the ability to sign electronically.

Kim Simmonds, who owns Law365, identified the potential to further enhance their offering through AI and machine learning. In early 2020, the company invested heavily in building a proof of concept, using the experience within her team to automatically create contracts for their tech focused clients, called Cloud Contracts 365.

In September 2022, the business secured grant funding to accelerate the development of Cloud Contracts 365 and enable the company to employ an in-house development team who worked closely with the Law365 team on further enhancements.

Following extensive Microsoft Partner research, Cloud Contracts 365 has been launched and is available using a subscription model with different tiers available, starting as low as £99 per month for the basic service, all the way up to £12k per annum.

Both Law365 and Cloud Contracts 365 are classed as separate entities but will enjoy client crossover. Cloud Contracts 365 provides a good baseline service and, as its clients grow and the contracts become more complex, there is a natural transition into Law365 where increased input from the highly skilled lawyers is required.

Recognising the need to continually market and develop the product offering, Kim Simmonds turned to alternative finance lender Reward, which specialises in providing property investors and SMEs with tailored business finance loans and asset-based solutions of up to £5m.

Kim said: “We’ve worked hard to establish a successful business, growing the team to 30 employees. However, being able to continue to evolve our AI product is key for our future growth and our commitment to provide the highest quality service and latest technology to our clients. The AI platform will quickly and conveniently produce legally binding contracts and ensure our clients aren’t left vulnerable or exposed.”

“We needed an agile funding solution to act as a cash flow buffer for future product development, so we turned to Reward as it has a reputation for delivering funding solutions at pace. The flexibility provided throughout the borrowing process has also helped remove many of the financial headaches and hurdles that inevitably arise during this type and size of transaction.”

Simon Adcock, regional director for London and the South East at Reward Finance Group, said: “AI has become a tool that a lot of businesses are using to evolve. Kim has identified a grey area in the law market and utilised a platform to enable companies to produce legally binding contracts with ease.

“The funding solution we have provided was ideal to ensure Kim has the cash flow in place to continue to develop the Cloud Contracts 365 platform and still offer the highest service possible for its technology clients. Kim has a clear vision for the next chapter for Cloud Contracts 365 and we look forward to supporting the team on their growth journey.”

The deal between Cloud Contracts 365 and Reward Finance Group was brokered by Gillian Palmer at Lending Made Simple.