Synova

Synova is a growth-focused private equity firm investing in European companies valued between £20m and £250m. The firm manages £1.7bn of capital on behalf of institutional investors and family offices, investing across sectors including Software & Data, Tech Enabled Services, and Financial Services. Synova partners with founders and managers to accelerate growth and drive exceptional returns. The firm was named Private Equity House of the Year at the 2025, 2022, and 2020 Private Equity Awards and House of the Year at the 2022 and 2019 British Private Equity Awards. According to Preqin in 2024, Synova's returns place the firm as Europe's top-performing private equity fund. Synova was founded in 2007 by its managing partners, David Menton and Philip Shapiro. Synova's other partners include Alex Bowden, Daniel Silverton-Parker, Zachary Tsai, Sunil Jain, and Ben Snow. 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 3.5x its total invested capital. Synova closed its 2016 third fund at £250m, which is performing strongly with 4x its total invested capital returned to date. Synova closed its 2019 fourth fund at its £365m hard cap and its 2022 Fund V at its £875m 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 an 8x return, and the sale of Mintec to Five Arrows Principal Investments for a 12x return. Synova’s average return on realised investments exceeds 6x invested capital.