Tessaract relocates to UK with £4.6m to scale legal workflow platform
This article covers Tessaract, a legal‑tech company, raising £4.6m in a funding round led by Mercia Ventures with participation from Fuel Ventures. The funding will accelerate UK expansion, support relocation of the company’s global headquarters to the UK and further product development to reduce administrative burden for law firms.
Tessaract, the legal‑tech company behind the Tessaract platform, has raised £4.6m in a funding round led by Mercia Ventures with follow‑on support from Fuel Ventures. The capital will fund a push into the UK market — including a relocation of the company’s global headquarters to the UK — and further product development aimed at reducing the administrative burden on law firms.
Why it matters
Law firms remain heavily dependent on manual processes for case management, billing and compliance. That creates friction for lawyers, slows client delivery and obscures financial performance. Tessaract’s cloud platform seeks to replace fragmented systems with a single environment that connects case management, finance, billing and collaboration — a proposition that could reshape back‑office operations across the sector.
Inside the product
The company already markets a unified platform used for client onboarding, matter management, billing and compliance. The new funding is earmarked for accelerating UK expansion and advancing product work, notably AI‑driven process optimisation and enhanced financial intelligence tools designed specifically for legal practices. Mike Hinchliffe has been appointed UK Managing Director to lead client success operations as the company scales.
Who’s behind the fund
The £4.6m round was led by Mercia Ventures, one of the UK’s active venture investors, with participation from Fuel Ventures. The investment signals continued VC interest in specialised SaaS aimed at professional services, and in software that combines operational workflow with financial visibility.
Founder perspective
The round was raised by founder Cherilyn Tan, who started Tessaract after observing how administrative inefficiency limited lawyers’ ability to focus on client work and strategy.
In the announcement, Cherilyn Tan, Founder and CEO at Tessaract, said:
“Law firms are evolving, and technology must evolve with them,” said Cherilyn Tan, Founder and CEO. “Tessaract is built to remove the operational burden — enabling legal teams to work seamlessly across data, finance, and client delivery. With Mercia Ventures’ backing, we’re scaling that capability to more firms across the UK.”
Investor view
Mercia positioned the investment as a bet on a founder‑led team attacking a complex, high‑value market.
In the announcement, Adam Lovell, Investor at Mercia Ventures, said:
“Cherilyn is an exceptional founder bringing clarity and efficiency to one of the most complex professional sectors. The UK’s legal market is among the most progressive globally, and Tessaract’s financial insight and workflow platform could redefine how modern law firms operate day to day.”
How it fits the market
The UK legal market has seen growing interest from technology investors as firms adopt cloud software and look for ways to improve margins and client service. Tessaract’s decision to relocate its global HQ to the UK underscores that market’s importance for product validation, hiring and commercial traction. For buyers, the selling point is operational consolidation — one system replacing multiple point solutions.
What’s next
With the funding, Tessaract plans to expand its UK sales and customer success teams, continue product development around AI and financial analytics, and use its relocated HQ as a base for further European expansion. Mike Hinchliffe will lead the customer operations effort as the company converts pilot customers into longer‑term clients.
For the UK and European startup ecosystem, the round is another sign that investors are willing to back vertical SaaS tackling established professional services. If Tessaract can deliver measurable efficiency and financial insight for law firms, it could accelerate digital transformation across a sector traditionally slow to change.
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| Investor | Sector | Stage | Activity | Team | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mercia (Mercia Ventures) | 82 investment(s) investment(s) | 14 contacts contacts | |||
 Fuel Ventures | 68 investment(s) investment(s) | 5 contacts contacts |
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