family offices

Venture investing is booming. In the last five years, a bigger proportion of direct investing in the sector comes from Family/Principal Investment Offices. But, despite some spectacular returns, many investors, and particularly non-institutionalised groups like family offices, often get burnt from investing in failed startups.

At least 60% of these businesses fail in their first three years of operations. Many of these companies often have little in the way of hard assets relying on intellectual property rights and/or their workforce as their prime “assets”.

Workforce's, of course, cannot be protected and although they may be a company’s main assets there is little to stop them from transferring their know-how individually or leaving en bloc to a competitor.  Many family offices share their risk by co-investing, but often this doesn’t help the due diligence process because family offices think the lead investor has done all the appropriate checks. That isn’t always the case.

With many family offices stretched with resource constraints, due diligence isn’t always given the appropriate emphasis. Unlike big institutional investors, many family offices don’t have the necessary due diligence resources.

This is where Legio XX comes in. We are a strategic legal due diligence adviser designed to give Family Offices the most professional help possible to ensure the best outcome from the deal process and to minimise the kind of risk referred to above.

By ensuring the due diligence exercise has particular attention on the target’s key assets and liabilities, Legio XX harnesses the reviewing lawyers’ attention where it matters most.

Lawyers’ time is also saved through the use of Artificial Intelligence when reviewing the mass of documents in an electronic data room.

The effectiveness and efficiency of the legal due diligence are increased when integrated with the exercise being undertaken by your other advisers.

We bring this consistent approach wherever you purchase in the world, working with your existing lawyers and other groups involved in the due diligence process.

Legio XX have advised businesses of all sizes and ownership structures and are uniquely positioned to help your family investment group with your due diligence efforts.