Customer Story
How Terra Firma Streamlines Deal Execution with Harvey and PwC
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Sam Bateman
Head of Tax at Terra Firma
About Terra Firma
Terra Firma is a leading UK investment firm specializing in private equity, operational real estate, and infrastructure plus investments.
Opportunity
Operating in a fast-paced, dealmaking environment, the firm recognized early on that AI could provide a competitive advantage in diligence, deal structuring, and risk assessment.
Terra Firma needed an AI solution that could:
- Expedite due diligence by extracting insights from vast legal and financial datasets.
- Enhance risk mitigation by identifying key regulatory and tax value drivers early in deal cycles.
- Improve efficiency across workflows by streamlining data extraction, research, and compliance checks.
Solution
After carefully evaluating multiple AI solutions, Terra Firma selected Harvey for its ability to enhance decision-making and boost workflows across the firm.
“We needed a platform that could benefit the entire firm - investment teams as well as operational, legal and compliance - rather than just one specialized function. Harvey checked all the boxes, providing both broad capabilities and deep expertise,” said Shamsa Rana, Technology Project Director at Terra Firma.
Advanced Tax Research with Harvey + PwC UK Tax Model
Harvey and PwC’s co-built UK Tax Model, which integrates PwC’s tax domain expertise with Harvey’s AI platform, has revolutionized Terra Firma’s tax workflows. AI-powered tagging and cross-referencing reduces tax research time from days to seconds, while early-stage tax diligence allows the firm to defer costly external advisory engagements until later in the deal cycle.
“With the PwC UK Tax model, I can quickly assess key risks without immediately engaging an external advisor. This saves costs and lets us focus on the most critical aspects of a deal,” said Sam Bateman, Head of Tax.
Automated Document Review & Financial Diligence
Harvey’s Vault tool has transformed Terra Firma’s approach to data extraction and analysis.
By automating workflows in Vault, including the Diligence Discovery module powered by PwC’s processes, internal teams—including legal, operational and investment teams—can rapidly analyze critical information, freeing up time to focus on strategic decision-making rather than manual data compilation.
Vault Use Cases Include:
- Focused Reviews: Sorting and extracting data from high volume due diligence items, such as leases, allows the team to focus on the key value driver.
- Supplier Risk Assessments: Automated financial health checks help identify potential risks early, strengthening portfolio company oversight.
- ESG Reviews: Synthesizing waste data from hundreds of reports accelerates ESG compliance checks.
- Invoice Reviews: A manual invoice review process has been reduced from days to hours, allowing for faster cost analysis.
“When we’re in the diligence phase and need a quick data sense-check, Harvey simplifies the process, saving us days of work and giving us a critical edge,” said Alexander Gibbs, Principal, Investment Team at Terra Firma.
Impact
Harvey’s rapid pace of improvement—faster document ingestion, AI-assisted drafting modes, and faster query responses—ensures it keeps pace with Terra Firma’s growing needs.
“The improvements we’ve seen in Harvey since our initial pilot have been outstanding. The platform is evolving so quickly that it keeps us ahead of the curve,” Charlie Hess, Investment Associate at Terra Firma.
Terra Firma continues to explore new ways to integrate Harvey into deal structuring, portfolio management, and compliance monitoring.
“After using Harvey extensively, it’s hard to imagine going back. It has become an essential tool in how we operate, enabling greater agility and precision,” Karen Ireland, Legal Counsel at Terra Firma.
Harvey has quickly become a critical aspect of Terra Firma’s AI strategy, driving smarter decisions, sharper execution, and a more agile investment process.