Synova
Synova is a growth focussed private equity firm specialising in investments in UK and Irish companies. The firm manages £750m of capital on behalf of institutional investors and family offices and invests across four sectors: Technology, Health and Education, Business Services and Financial Services.[1] Synova is focused on partnering with founders and managers to accelerate growth and drive exceptional returns.
 | |
| 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 | £750 million |
| Website | www.synova.pe |
The firm was named UK House of the Year at the 2020 Private Equity Awards and House of the Year at the 2019 British Private Equity Awards, the third time in six years Synova has won this prestigious accolade. [2] [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 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 £250 million which is performing strongly and recently closed its 2019 fourth fund at its £365m hard cap.
2018 was a strong year for exits for Synova with the sale of software company Mandata to LDC generating a 8x return and the sale of medical imaging business 4ways to ECI for a 6x return and 75% IRR. This followed the sale of Kinapse to Hg Capital on 1 February 2016, generating a 16x return and a 126% IRR. Other notable exits include dbg for 6x cost and TLG for 3x cost.
2019 continued in the same vein for Synova with further exits from Fund II including the £268m sale of Stackhouse Poland to AJ Gallagher for a 5.6x return, the £150m sale of Meritsoft to Cognizant for a 4.0x return and the £73m sale of Defaqto to SimplyBiz plc for a 3.9x return.
Current and past* investments
| Company | Year of investment | Return | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| TLG Brands* | 2008 - Exited 2016 | 3.0x [4] | Consumer |
| Clearwater Care* | 2009 - Exited 2017 | 2.5x [5] | Health |
| dbg* | 2010 - Exited 2013 | 5.8x [6] | Business Services |
| Kinapse* | 2012 - Exited 2016 | 16.1x [7] | Healthcare |
| Mandata* | 2013 - Exited 2018 | 8.0x [8] | Technology |
| MK Test | 2014 | Business Services | |
| Stackhouse Poland* | 2014 - Exited 2019 | 5.6x [9] | Financial Services |
| Defaqto* | 2015 - Exited 2019 | 3.9x [10] | Technology |
| 4Ways Healthcare* | 2015 - Exited 2018 | 6.0x [11] | Health |
| Merit Software* | 2015 - Exited 2019 | 4.0x [12] | Technology |
| Vistair | 2015 | Technology | |
| Clyde Munro Dental | 2015 | Health | |
| Travelsmart | 2015 | Technology | |
| Fairstone | 2016 | Financial Services | |
| Oakland | 2016 | Health | |
| Avantra | 2017 | Technology | |
| AllClear | 2018 | Financial Services | |
| Mintec | 2018 | Technology | |
| Chatsworth Schools | 2019 | Education | |
| Pacifica | 2019 | Business Services | |
| Tonic Games | 2019 | Technology | |
| Preventx | 2019 | Health | |
| Charnwood Molecular | 2020 | Health | |
| JM Glendinning | 2020 | Financial Services |
References
- "Our Focus", Synova Capital. Retrieved on 6 July 2013.
- https://www.synova-capital.com/press-releases/synova-named-house-of-the-year-for-third-time-in-six-years/
- https://www.britishprivateequityawards.com/2019-winner
- https://realdeals.eu.com/article/synova-bags-3x-money-return-from-tlg
- https://realdeals.eu.com/article/synova-clearwater-salutem
- 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
- https://www.privateequityinternational.com/synova-nets-16-1x-on-kinapse-sale/
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/synova-nets-8x-return-on-20-million-sale-of-mandata-to-ldc-1525192447
- https://www.nsinsurance.com/news/arthur-j-gallagher-stackhouse-poland/
- https://hl.com/about-us/transactions/transaction-detail/17179870903/
- https://www.alantra.com/ib-transaction/synova-capital-llp-sell-side-advisory-4-ways-healthcare-limited-eci-partners-llp/
- http://realdeals.eu.com/article/synova-banks-4x-money-with-meritsoft-sale-to-cognizant/