What Tapestry does

Tapestry Compliance Ltd is a UK-based, 100% employee-owned law firm founded in 2011 in Sheffield by lawyers with magic-circle and in-house incentives experience. The firm specialises in UK and global executive and employee share plans, serving 65% of the FTSE 100 and clients across FTSE 250, private-equity-owned businesses, banks, and pre-IPO technology companies. Its three-pillar service portfolio comprises Legal Advice (bespoke advisory on plan design, implementation, compliance, tax-beneficial structures, corporate governance, and transaction support), OnTap (a proprietary online compliance database covering 150+ countries with daily updates), and Training (tailored corporate training plus Cert. ESP, the UK's only CGIUKI-accredited share plans qualification, with 1,000+ graduates).

The technology layer is OnTap: an in-house database platform hosted at database.tapestrycompliance.com with 24/7 access for subscribers, providing structured compliance content (securities laws, exchange controls, tax rules, payroll guides) maintained daily by a dedicated legal and support team. The platform integrates with the firm's advisory service as both a recurring revenue stream and a differentiator, while the Cert. ESP course is delivered via its own dedicated portal (certesp.tapestrycompliance.com).

Revenue is generated through three streams: (1) legal advisory engagements (largely retainer/relationship-based B2B work quoted per engagement, as pricing is not publicly disclosed), (2) OnTap database subscriptions with 24/7 access, and (3) training fees including Cert. ESP registration. Go-to-market is enterprise-field-sales-led, supplemented by webinars, roundtables, and industry participation across GEO, NASPP, SPLG, and ProShare. In October 2020 Tapestry became 100% employee-owned via an Employee Ownership Trust, completed founder repayment ahead of schedule in 2024, and re-energised the brand with a 2025 visual identity refresh aligned to its three service pillars.

Name

Tapestry

Legal name

Tapestry Compliance Ltd

Website

https://tapestrycompliance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tapestry Compliance Ltd is a 100% employee-owned UK law firm specialising in UK and global executive and employee share plans, serving 65% of the FTSE 100 plus FTSE 250, banks, PE-backed, and pre-IPO companies through Legal Advice, the OnTap compliance database (150+ countries), and the CGIUKI-accredited Cert. ESP qualification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheffield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: Comprehensive legal advice on UK and global share plans and incentives, including plan design, implementation, global compliance, tax beneficial plans, corporate governance, transaction support, director remuneration reporting, and financial services regulation.
2. OnTap Database Subscription: Market-leading online compliance database subscription providing access to global share plan regulatory information across 150+ countries. 24/7 access with customized and branded format for subscribers.
3. Training Services: Tailored training programmes and Certificate in Employee Share Plans (CGIUKI accredited) professional qualification course with registration fees.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Tapestry is a UK law firm specializing exclusively in UK and global executive and employee share plans and incentives. The firm delivers expert legal counsel on plan design, implementation, global compliance, tax-advantaged plans, corporate governance, and transaction support, alongside the OnTap market-leading online compliance database covering 150+ countries and tailored training programmes including the Cert. ESP qualification.

Product overview

Tapestry offers a three-pillar service portfolio: (1) Legal Advice — expert legal counsel on UK and global share plans and incentives; (2) OnTap — a market-leading online database providing compliance information in more than 150 countries; and (3) Training — tailored training programmes and the Certificate in Employee Share Plans (Cert. ESP), the UK's only professionally recognised qualification for share plan practitioners, accredited by CGIUKI. Together these services support all aspects of executive and employee share plan design, implementation, compliance, and professional development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OnTap: Market-leading online database providing cost-effective information on share plan compliance in more than 150 countries, including securities laws, exchange controls, tax rules, and payroll guides.
• Certificate in Employee Share Plans (Cert. ESP)

Products and services

• Legal Advice Expert legal counsel on UK and global share plans and incentives covering plan design, implementation, global compliance, tax-advantaged plans, corporate governance, transaction support, director remuneration reporting, financial services regulation, and employee benefit trusts. Served to FTSE 100/250 companies and other enterprises.
• OnTap Market-leading online database providing cost-effective global share plan compliance information across 150+ countries, including securities laws, exchange controls, tax rules, feasibility reports, legal and tax reports, employee tax notes, payroll guides, and tax beneficial treatment information. Accessed 24/7 at database.tapestrycompliance.com.
• Training Tailored training sessions, workshops, and guided meetings covering share plan topics, designed to upskill corporate teams on executive and employee share plans.
• Certificate in Employee Share Plans (Cert. ESP) UK's only professionally recognised qualification for share plan practitioners, accredited by CGIUKI. Comprises 30+ teaching hours across 9 modules covering share plan fundamentals, design, legal and regulatory issues, international plans, executive plans, tax, all-employee plans, accounting, disclosure, and administration.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65% of current FTSE 100 companies trust Tapestry
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GEO (Global Equity Organization)coreOthersTapestry team members hold positions on the GEO Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Industry organization for global equity and employee ownership, providing thought leadership and best practices.
• NASPP (National Association of Stock Plan Professionals)coreOthersTapestry advisors regularly present at NASPP conferences and engage with US clients through this professional organization for stock plan professionals.
• ProSharecoreOthersTapestry has strong involvement with ProShare, including team members on the ProShare Advisory Board. Active in lobbying HMRC and government on industry issues including SIP and SAYE reform.
• SPLG (Share Plan Lawyers Group)coreOthersTapestry team members serve on Share Plan Lawyers Group committees including Co-Chair of Corporate and Regulatory Committee, providing industry advocacy and best practice.
• CGIUKI (Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland)coreOthersAccrediting body for the Certificate in Employee Share Plans qualification. Tapestry's Cert. ESP course is accredited by CGIUKI.
• Employee Ownership Australia (EOA)minorOthersTapestry team member serves as board director for EOA, promoting employee ownership in Australia and New Zealand.
• Overseas Lawyer NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationTapestry works closely with a network of overseas lawyers to provide due diligence and implementation support for clients on global incentive plans across multiple jurisdictions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pinsent Masons: UK-headquartered firm with a recognised incentives and share plans team serving FTSE-listed corporates. Margaret Rankin at Tapestry previously worked at Pinsent Masons, indicating direct talent and client overlap.
• Linklaters: Magic Circle firm with a global share plans practice serving multinational corporates. Tapestry's co-founder Bob Grayson previously spent over a decade at Linklaters, and the two compete for global executive incentive mandates.
• Bird & Bird: Bird & Bird has one of the most established dedicated share plans and incentives practices in the UK and Europe, directly competing with Tapestry for FTSE-level advisory mandates and serving similar cross-border client needs.
• Clifford Chance: Magic Circle firm with a recognised share plans and incentives group serving FTSE 100 and global listed companies, competing head-to-head with Tapestry on large-cap UK and cross-border executive remuneration mandates.
• Travers Smith: London-based firm with a specialist incentives and remuneration practice serving UK listed companies, asset managers and financial sponsors, directly comparable in client type and mandate scope to Tapestry.
• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Magic Circle firm with a global share plans practice; Tapestry's OnTap manager Sharon Thwaites previously worked at Freshfields, evidencing talent and capability overlap in serving multinational clients.
• Slaughter and May: Leading UK corporate law firm with a specialist share plans and executive remuneration group serving major FTSE clients on incentive design and governance matters.
• Allen & Overy Shearman (A&O Shearman): Merged Magic Circle / transatlantic firm with a strong global share plans practice serving FTSE, Fortune 500, and major financial services clients on cross-border incentive arrangements.
• Baker McKenzie: Global law firm with a well-established share plans and incentives practice serving multinational clients across the US, Europe and Asia — a key competitor on cross-border mandates where Tapestry relies on its overseas lawyer network.

Broad incumbents

• EY (Ernst & Young): Big 4 professional services firm with a substantial global mobility, employment tax and share plans practice serving FTSE 100 clients. Tapestry's Margaret Rankin previously worked in EY's share plans team, indicating direct overlap in capability and clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TapestryLaw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tapestry-compliance-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/tapestrycompliance

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tapestry