Online will-writing service Farewill completes £7.5m capital raise

Farewill, the online will-writing service, has raised £7.5m in its second funding round. The service enables people to write a will online in under 15 minutes and have it checked by a legal expert within five days, at £90 for a single will and £135 for a couple, and including unlimited access to live phone and chat support. Launching less than two years ago, Farewill now writes 1 in 30 wills and by the end of 2019 is forecast to be writing 1 in 10. Farewill currently has 50 charity partners including Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support for whom it has already raised £95 million in pledged income. The capital raise sees further investments from listed fund Augmentum Fintech, Taavet Hinrikus, Transferwise, and Tracy Terrill ex CTO of LegalZoom. Other investors include JamJar, SAATCHiNVEST, dmg ventures, Kindred Capital, Tiny VC And Venture Founders. They join the likes of Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla who invested in Farewill’s seed-round. This investment round will go towards doubling the workforce by the end of 2019 and delivering customer support and satisfaction though its online service. Dan Garrett, Farewill co-founder and CEO said: “Dying is the largest financial event of your life, with £1 trillion expected to pass between generations over the next years. It’s a serious amount to protect and pass on correctly. And yet it is largely ignored. “We have a unique and exciting opportunity to lead the way in building simple, easy-to-use tools for dealing with death, putting people back in control and giving everyone peace of mind over what happens when they die. It’s clear our investors are making a big bet on us doing something unprecedented, as we aim to build the first consumer brand in death. “The mix of unicorn founders Alex Chesterman (Zoopla) and Taavet Hinrikus (Transferwise) and fintech specialists like Augmentum, is a testament to our team and approach to the market.”  

from UK Fundraising http://bit.ly/2sH5yV2