Andy Shovel bought a house last year and hated every second of it. That, in his telling, is why he is now building a law firm. It’s called Keith.
“It was awful,” says the cofounder of food brand THIS, which sells a range of meat-alternative packaged foods. “Conveyancers might be one of the most unhappy people I've ever come across,” he says, referring to the legal professionals who specialise in property law. “They get heat from all sides — clients get frustrated, agents get frustrated.
“I think after illness and relationship breakdown, the biggest source of anguish in life is conveyancing.”
Keith, he says, can make conveyancers' jobs "way more enjoyable". The startup, which Shovel set up with his THIS cofounder Pete Sharman, announced a £2m seed round last week.
The firm — which will launch online later this year — will be built around 30 to 40 AI agents, each with a tightly defined role. One agent reviews contracts of sale. Another handles a specific class of enquiry. "I see it not as humans being shoved out," Shovel says, "but humans having super duper spell check and a virtual admin assistant."
A typical conveyancer might be juggling 100 active files, says Shovel. A simple task on file 67 might sit untouched for seven days, not because it is hard, but because there is no time. "The back will be broken on tasks in seconds," Shovel says. "One of our agents will do the work, the solicitor will quickly check it over, say 'I agree with this assessment' — and move on."
That freed-up human attention, he says cheerfully, can then go where it is genuinely needed: "Like when someone's got plutonium in their back garden, or they're sitting on an unexploded bomb."
Meanwhile, the sausages
An AI law firm is only the latest new direction in Shovel’s career. He’s been a founder for over 18 years, setting up a recruitment business, a burger delivery business and a climbing centre in this time. He has also set up an animal welfare charity.
“Keith was not the bookie’s choice. But I’m getting used to aggressive pivots.”
Shovel stepped back from the day-to-day running of THIS in 2024. The company, by his account, is doing well in a “really difficult market”. Scepticism over price — many still opt for cheaper animal protein — taste and processing have hurt some vegan brands.
“We're not growing like we used to — but we just announced our first operationally profitable month in December." Net revenue sits at £21m and market share around 8-9%. "It's good considering how tough that market is.
"Vegan businesses are undoubtedly in a slight dip — anything perceived as woke or left wing is slightly out of favour."
‘We’ll definitely have a laugh’
Shovel promises that Keith will ruffle feathers. This is someone who once staged a mock funeral procession for bacon through central London. "I'm desperate to cause a stir and make people laugh and be naughty," he says. "I bet no law firms have ever done PR stunts."
Keith will be different. Of that, at least, he seems certain. "We're definitely going to have a laugh."
