CMS advises Lyst on $85m fundraising

International law firm CMS has advised UK scale-up and global fashion e-commerce platform Lyst Ltd on its $85 million fundraising. 

Investors in the funding round included certain funds managed by Fidelity International, Novator Capital, Giano Capital and C4 Ventures, as well as other financial and strategic previous backers Draper Esprit, 14W, Accel, Balderton Capital, Venrex and LVMH. Carmen Busquets, an entrepreneur and strategic advisor to Lyst, also increased her investment in the company with this funding round.

Described as a pre-initial public offering (IPO) round of financing, Lyst expects to use the funds to continue personalising the fashion shopping experience for their customers, while helping the brands and stores that partner with them to thrive. Since its launch in 2010, Lyst has now garnered 150 million annual users who have access to an assortment of 8 million products from 17,000 brands and retailers. 

John Finnemore, CMS Corporate partner, said: “We are pleased to have supported Lyst in this strategic funding round which provides the resources it needs to deepen and enrich its platform. Consumer behaviour has clearly shifted and changed as a result of the pandemic resulting in a growing demand for highly customised online shopping experiences which Lyst is well positioned to continue offering.”

Emma McFerran, Chief Operating Officer at Lyst, commented: “John and the CMS team have supported Lyst since our Series A round and we continue to value their pragmatic approach and deep sector expertise as we scale. This financing round unlocks the next exciting stage of growth for Lyst as we continue to build a deeply personalised and data-driven experience for our hundreds of millions of fashion loving customers.”

The CMS team advising Lyst comprised John Finnemore, Toby Lovett and Idin Sabahipour (Corporate).