Struan Penwarden

I am the International Head of Venture Capital at Bird & Bird, focusing on domestic and international corporate transactions for emerging and high-growth companies and the investors in and lenders to those companies.

My practice focuses on transactions relating to companies in business sectors where technology plays a key role and involves venture capital financings, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. My clients include a variety of national and international public and private companies engaged in a wide range of technology sectors including automotive, software, semi-conductors, internet, mobile and telecommunications, cleantech and life sciences.

My many years of experience, at all stages of the financing life cycle of emerging and high growth companies, have allowed me to specialise in not only equity, but also debt transactions for venture backed companies (on both the investor/lender side and also on the company/borrower side). I am recognised as one of the leading practitioners in the venture/growth debt arena in Europe and represent some of the some of the largest VC institutions and companies in Europe and Asia, including Kreos Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Columbia Lake Partners, Horizons Ventures, Speedcast, Made.com, Immersive Labs, Apollo Endosurgery, CensorNet and Accsys Technologies.

You'll find me in the trusted international directories, as a top ranked lawyer in venture capital and with a regular listing in The Legal 500 UK since 2006. I was also ranked for Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment in Chambers and Partners UK in 2009.