International law firm Simmons & Simmons has set up a £100,000 fund to help early-stage fintech start-ups face legal issues.

According to the firm, the fund will help up to four “exciting” UK fintech start-ups solve those problems faced in the infancy stage of the business through the provision of free legal advice up to the value of £33,000.

Start-ups eligible for the fund should not have received more than £1mn in investment, and they should have been accepted onto one of the UK accelerator programmes, or have been referred to Simmons & Simmons by a fintech-focused venture capital investor. The firm does not expect to take equity in return for providing its advice.

“Early-stage fintech businesses in the UK currently face challenges finding the right kind of legal support. Our vision is for the fintech fund to help promising start-ups solve challenging legal or regulatory problems that could otherwise slow down their development or, in some cases, prevent them from getting off the ground at all,” says Angus McLean, partner and head of the firm’s international fintech team.

Managing partner Jeremy Hoyland adds: “The Simmons & Simmons fintech fund will allow us to use our specialist expertise to contribute meaningful support to the UK fintech sector, while also building strong relationships with the next generation of exciting fintech businesses.”