Synova
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 | |
| Company type | Limited liability partnership |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private equity, venture capital |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founders | David Menton Philip Shapiro |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Products | Venture capital, private equity funds, equity investment, management buy-in, management buyout, growth capital |
| AUM | £1.7 billion |
| Website | www.synova.pe |
Synova is a growth focused investor supporting European companies valued between £20m and £250m. The firm manages £1.7bn of capital on behalf of institutional investors and family offices and invests across four sectors: Software & Data, Tech Enabled Services, Financial Services and Health & Education.[1] Synova partners with founders and managers to accelerate growth and drive exceptional returns. Synova is currently investing across the full mid-market spectrum from its £875m fifth fund, raised in 2022, which includes a dedicated £250m pool of capital, Chrysalis, to support smaller growth companies.
The firm was named UK House of the Year at the 2022 and 2020 Private Equity Awards and House of the Year at the 2022 and 2019 British Private Equity Awards, the fourth time in seven years Synova has won this prestigious accolade.[2] According to Preqin Synova's returns currently place the firm as the UK's top performing private equity fund.[3]
Synova was founded in 2007 by its managing partners, David Menton and Philip Shapiro. Synova's other partners include Tim Ashlin, Alex Bowden, Daniel Silverton-Parker and Zachary Tsai.
Synova's 2007 Fund I was fully realised in 2018 generating a 4x return for investors. Synova's £110m 2013 Fund II has now returned three times its total invested capital following exits in 2018 and 2019 with only half the fund realised. Synova closed its 2016 third fund at £250m which is performing strongly with three times its total invested capital returned with only a third of the fund realised. Synova closed its 2019 fourth fund at its £365m hard cap.
Notable exits include the sale of Kinapse to Hg Capital generating a 16x return, the sale of Tonic Games to Epic Games for a 9x return and 200% IRR, the sale of Mandata for a 8x return and the sale of Mintec to Five Arrows Principal Investments for a 12x return. Synova’s average return on realised investments is 6.2x invested capital.
Current and past* investments
| Company | Year of investment | Return | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| TLG Brands* | 2008 - Exited 2016 | 3.0x [4] | Other |
| Clearwater Care* | 2009 - Exited 2017 | 2.5x [5] | Health |
| dbg* | 2010 - Exited 2013 | 5.8x [6] | Tech Enabled Services |
| Kinapse* | 2012 - Exited 2016 | 16.1x [7] | Health |
| Mandata* | 2013 - Exited 2018 | 8.0x [8] | Software & Data |
| MK Test | 2014 | Tech Enabled Services | |
| Stackhouse Poland* | 2014 - Exited 2019 | 5.6x [9] | Financial Services |
| Defaqto* | 2015 - Exited 2019 | 3.9x [10] | Software & Data |
| 4Ways Healthcare* | 2015 - Exited 2018 | 6.0x [11] | Health |
| Merit Software* | 2015 - Exited 2019 | 4.0x [12] | Software & Data |
| Vistair | 2015 | Software & Data | |
| Clyde Munro Dental | 2015 | Health | |
| Travelsmart | 2015 | Other | |
| Fairstone | 2016 - Exited 2021 | 4.5x [13] | Financial Services |
| Oakland | 2016 | Health | |
| Avantra | 2017 | Software & Data | |
| AllClear | 2018 | Financial Services | |
| Mintec | 2018 - Exited 2022 | 12.0x | Software & Data |
| Chatsworth Schools | 2019 | Education | |
| Pacifica | 2019 | Tech Enabled Services | |
| Tonic Games* | 2019 - Exited 2021 | 9.0x [14] | Software & Data |
| Preventx | 2019 | Health | |
| Charnwood Molecular | 2020 | Health | |
| JMG Group | 2020 | Financial Services | |
| Orbis Protect | 2021 | Tech Enabled Services | |
| DM Financial | 2021 | Tech Enabled Services | |
| National Education Group | 2021 | Software & Data | |
| Unity5 | 2022 | Software & Data |
References
- ^ "Our Focus", Synova Capital. Retrieved on 6 July 2013.
- ^ https://www.britishprivateequityawards.com/2019-winner [dead link]
- ^ "Synova ranked UK's top performing private equity firm | Synova".
- ^ "Synova bags 3x money return from TLG | Real Deals".
- ^ "Synova exits special needs care business Clearwater to trade | Real Deals".
- ^ https://www.altassets.net/private-equity-news/by-news-type/deal-news/synova-capital-gets-first-fund-off-to-a-flyer-with-5-8x-dbg-exit.htm [dead link]
- ^ "Synova nets 16.1x on Kinapse sale". February 2016.
- ^ Alves, Joice (May 2018). "Synova Nets 8x Return on £20 Million Sale of Mandata to LDC". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Arthur J. Gallagher to buy UK insurance broker Stackhouse Poland". 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Houlihan Lokey Advises Defaqto | Transaction Details".
- ^ "Alantra advised Synova Capitalon the sale of 4 Ways Healthcare Limited to ECI Partners".
- ^ "Synova banks 4x money with Meritsoft sale to Cognizant | Real Deals".
- ^ https://www.unquote.com/uk/official-record/3023000/synova-scores-45x-on-sale-of-fairstone-to-ta/
- ^ "Synova exits Tonic Games Group to Epic Games | Real Deals".