Synova Explained

Synova
Type:Limited liability partnership
Industry:Private equity, venture capital
Foundation:2007
Founders:David Menton
Philip Shapiro
Location City:London
Location Country:United Kingdom
Area Served:United Kingdom
Products:Venture capital, private equity funds, equity investment, management buy-in, management buyout, growth capital
Aum:£1.7 billion
Homepage: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 in 2023 Synova's returns place the firm as Europe'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*

CompanyYear of investmentReturnSector
TLG Brands*2008 - Exited 20163.0x [4] Other
Clearwater Care*2009 - Exited 20172.5x [5] Health
dbg*2010 - Exited 20135.8x [6] Tech Enabled Services
Kinapse*2012 - Exited 201616.1x [7] Health
Mandata*2013 - Exited 20188.0x [8] Software & Data
MK Test*2014 - Exited 20243.0xTech Enabled Services
Stackhouse Poland*2014 - Exited 20195.6x [9] Financial Services
Defaqto*2015 - Exited 20193.9x [10] Software & Data
4Ways Healthcare*2015 - Exited 20186.0x [11] Health
Merit Software*2015 - Exited 20194.0x [12] Software & Data
Vistair*2015 - Exited 20236.5xSoftware & Data
Clyde Munro Dental2015Health
Travelsmart*2015 - Exited 2024Other
Fairstone2016 - Exited 20214.5x [13] Financial Services
Oakland 2016Health
Avantra2017Software & Data
AllClear2018 - Exited 20247.3xFinancial Services
Mintec2018 - Exited 202212.0xSoftware & Data
Chatsworth Schools2019Education
Pacifica2019Tech Enabled Services
Tonic Games*2019 - Exited 20219.0x [14] Software & Data
Preventx2019Health
Charnwood Molecular2020Health
JMG Group2020Financial Services
Orbis Protect2021Tech Enabled Services
DM Financial2021Tech Enabled Services
National Education Group2021Software & Data
Unity52022Software & Data
31732022Financial Services
Mallcom2022Software & Data
Learnlight2023Tech Enabled Services
Synectics Solutions 2024Software & Data
Mecsia2024Tech Enabled Services

Notes and References

  1. http://www.synova-capital.com/our-focus/ "Our Focus"
  2. Web site: British Private Equity Awards 2022: winners announced Unquote. 5 October 2022 . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20221127131410/https://www.unquote.com/uk/news/3027925/british-private-equity-awards-2022-winners-announced. 2022-11-27. live.
  3. Web site: Synova ranked UK's top performing private equity firm | Synova.
  4. Web site: Synova bags 3x money return from TLG | Real Deals.
  5. Web site: Synova exits special needs care business Clearwater to trade | Real Deals.
  6. Web site: Synova Capital gets first fund off to a flyer with 5.8x DBG exit | AltAssets Private Equity News . 16 April 2013 .
  7. Web site: Synova nets 16.1x on Kinapse sale. February 2016.
  8. News: Synova Nets 8x Return on £20 Million Sale of Mandata to LDC. Wall Street Journal. May 2018. Alves. Joice.
  9. Web site: Arthur J. Gallagher to buy UK insurance broker Stackhouse Poland. 8 January 2019.
  10. Web site: Houlihan Lokey Advises Defaqto | Transaction Details.
  11. Web site: Alantra advised Synova Capitalon the sale of 4 Ways Healthcare Limited to ECI Partners.
  12. Web site: Synova banks 4x money with Meritsoft sale to Cognizant | Real Deals.
  13. Web site: Synova scores 4.5x on sale of Fairstone to TA | Unquote . 25 February 2021 .
  14. Web site: Synova exits Tonic Games Group to Epic Games | Real Deals.

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