As investors, we’re entrepreneurs at heart partnering with founders and managers to generate exceptional growth in their companies.
Sharing our history, our vision, our knowledge and our strength - the Synova team.
Let’s talk about…
Our Story
Launching in 2007, we went straight in at the deep end.
At the time, we were younger than all our peers, and in the midst of unprecedented market turbulence. But we had a vision for a new, more personal type of partnership. So, in spite of everything, we threw ourselves – and everything we had – into the business.
Because we had a plan, and we believed in it.
Our Vision
We’ve had a “sleeves rolled up” approach to business from day one.
Our first £50m fund took several years to raise – during which time we took no salary and worked harder than we’d ever thought possible. We fought tooth and nail to turn our dreams to reality.
And this embodied our vision: to invest something more than just capital.
Our Success
Hard work has been key to our success – yielding over a decade of market-leading returns.
Synova is also proud to have received several industry awards and accolades, including Investor of the Year at the British Private Equity Awards for four of the previous seven years and UK Private Equity House of the Year at the 2020 and 2022 Private Equity Awards
By all metrics, what we’re doing is
working. But the journey continues.
Our Team
After many successful years, we know precisely where our strengths lie. It’s clear: people are our greatest asset.
We are at heart entrepreneurs and business-builders. Directed entirely towards growth, our team benefits from diverse backgrounds spanning finance and law to consulting and software engineering. So between us, we know what it takes to succeed not only as business owners, but as business strategists and builders too.
Come and meet the team.
Meet the team
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Angus Abbott
Portfolio Director
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Laura Atterwill
Managing Director
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Johnny Battle
M&A Executive
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Charlotte Bell-Irving
Executive Assistant
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Oli Bevan
Partner
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Amarvir Bhullar
Assistant Director
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Alex Bowden
Partner
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Harry Fitzpatrick
Investment Manager
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Sunil Jain
Partner
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Erato Kallitsa
Talent Manager
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Fatih Karaagac
Investment Manager
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Aziz Khan
Fund Accountant
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Jihea Kim
Assistant Director
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Jonathan Lavers
Investment Director
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Max Lawson
Capital Markets Director
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Alex Lazare
Director
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Lottie Lunn
Front of House & Events
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Tom Meacher
Investment Director
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Katia Mendonca
Assistant Director
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David Menton
Managing Partner
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Mike Mullally
Investment Director
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Charlie Mundy
Investment Manager
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Anuj Neermul
Fund Accountant
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Adam Page
Investment Director
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Jonas Samlin
Managing Director
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Philip Shapiro
Managing Partner
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Daniel Silverton-Parker
CFO & Partner
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Ben Snow
Partner
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Chris Snow
Assistant Director
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Aidan Thompson
Investment Manager
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Molly Timmis
Team Assistant
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Zachary Tsai
Partner
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Majid Tufail
Finance Director
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Thomas Usher
Partner
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Ellie Vaughan
Executive Assistant
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Angus Abbott
Portfolio Director
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Laura Atterwill
Managing Director
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Johnny Battle
M&A Executive
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Charlotte Bell-Irving
Executive Assistant
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Oli Bevan
Partner
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Amarvir Bhullar
Assistant Director
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Alex Bowden
Partner
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Harry Fitzpatrick
Investment Manager
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Sunil Jain
Partner
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Erato Kallitsa
Talent Manager
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Fatih Karaagac
Investment Manager
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Aziz Khan
Fund Accountant
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Jihea Kim
Assistant Director
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Jonathan Lavers
Investment Director
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Max Lawson
Capital Markets Director
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Alex Lazare
Director
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Lottie Lunn
Front of House & Events
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Tom Meacher
Investment Director
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Katia Mendonca
Assistant Director
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David Menton
Managing Partner
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Mike Mullally
Investment Director
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Charlie Mundy
Investment Manager
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Anuj Neermul
Fund Accountant
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Adam Page
Investment Director
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Jonas Samlin
Managing Director
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Philip Shapiro
Managing Partner
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Daniel Silverton-Parker
CFO & Partner
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Ben Snow
Partner
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Chris Snow
Assistant Director
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Aidan Thompson
Investment Manager
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Molly Timmis
Team Assistant
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Zachary Tsai
Partner
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Majid Tufail
Finance Director
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Thomas Usher
Partner
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Ellie Vaughan
Executive Assistant
Angus Abbott
Portfolio Director
Angus joined Synova having previously been Head of Corporate Development & M&A for a PE-backed payments business. He has experience working with growth companies, having helped establish a strategic growth and investment team for Barclays Bank. Prior to this, he worked in M&A advisory at Rothschild & Co and Gleacher Shacklock. Angus holds an MEng in General Engineering from Durham University.
Laura Atterwill
Managing Director
Laura joined Synova in 2024 and has overall responsibility for supporting the talent agendas of our portfolio companies including executive hiring and organisational design. Laura was previously at Fidelity where she helped to build their strategic investment arm and supported a range of high-growth, founder-led portfolio companies with their people strategies. Prior to this Laura worked at Eight Roads where she supported portfolio value creation and built out the investor and functional talent for the platform. Laura’s early career was at Spencer Stuart, the global executive search firm. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2007 and is a Meyler Campbell accredited executive coach.
Johnny Battle
M&A Executive
Johnny joined Synova in 2024 from EY, where he worked in the private equity Financial Due Diligence team and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He graduated from the University of Bristol with a BSc in Economics.
Charlotte Bell-Irving
Executive Assistant
Charlotte was previously at Savills for 4 years before joining Synova in November 2021 as an Executive Assistant. Charlotte provides support for the Managing Partners. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in French.
Oli Bevan
Partner
Oli joined Synova as a Partner in 2023. He has 17 years’ experience of investing in and supporting UK mid-market businesses, sitting on the Boards of 12 companies. Prior to Synova, Oli was a Partner at Dunedin and led Waterland’s UK business. He started his career in management consulting, before spending two years in industry. Oli is a Non-Executive Director of Mecsia and co-leads Synova’s strategy in the Tech Enabled Services sector.
Amarvir Bhullar
Assistant Director
Amarvir joined Synova in 2025. Prior to this, he spent over six years at Montagu Private Equity, where he worked on several platform investments across Europe and the US. He began his career at Bain & Company, advising corporate and private equity clients on strategy, M&A and performance improvement. Amarvir is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Statistics from UCL and a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of Oxford.
Alex Bowden
Partner
Alex joined Synova during 2011. He has over 17 years’ experience of successfully investing in and supporting UK mid-market companies. Prior to joining Synova, Alex spent a number of years at Lloyds Development Capital (LDC) and 3i plc investing in businesses across the UK. Alex is a Non-Executive Director of Pacifica, Orbis Protect, Fairstone, Unity5 and Mecsia and oversees Synova’s strategy in the Tech Enabled Services sector.
Harry Fitzpatrick
Investment Manager
Harry joined Synova in 2021 as an Investment Executive. Prior to joining, Harry worked for Colmore Capital, a UK-focused real estate investor, having started his career as a Global Markets Analyst at Goldman Sachs. Harry holds a MChem from the University of Oxford.
Sunil Jain
Partner
Sunil joined in 2019 and has 20 years’ experience of investing in growth companies and supporting financial services companies. He has served on 15 investee company Boards and has experience across the Financial Services, FinTech, Tech Enabled Services and Education sectors. He holds a MEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge and has also studied at MIT. Sunil is a Non-Executive Director of DM Financial, 3173 and Synectics Solutions.
Erato Kallitsa
Talent Manager
Erato joined Synova in 2024 as Talent Researcher to support the coordination of the talent agendas of Synova’s portfolio companies. Erato was previously at Blackwood Group where she focused on hiring Private Equity executives across levels. She holds a degree in Law, having graduated from the University of Bristol.
Fatih Karaagac
Investment Manager
Fatih joined Synova as an Investment Executive in 2024. Before joining, he spent four years at Jefferies in London and Frankfurt working in M&A advisory. Fatih holds an MSc in Finance & Investments from Rotterdam School of Management and a BSc in Economics and Management from the University of Hannover.
Aziz Khan
Fund Accountant
Aziz joined Synova in March 2026 as a Fund Accountant. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at Langham Hall where he managed a portfolio of real estate funds. Aziz is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant with over ten years of experience in financial reporting, fund operations, audit coordination, and regulatory compliance.
Jihea Kim
Assistant Director
Jihea joined Synova in February 2024 and is responsible for driving change and value creation through ESG engagement in the portfolio and across the firm as part of our responsible investment strategy. Prior to joining, Jihea was part of Bridgepoint’s PE ESG team and worked at PwC as a Sustainability and Climate Change consultant. She graduated from The London School of Economics in 2016 and Warwick Business School in 2017. Jihea is a board member of the Southeast and East Asian Centre, a community organisation providing support services to the ESEA community in the UK.
Jonathan Lavers
Investment Director
Jonathan leads Synova’s origination function. In this role, he has overall responsibility for sourcing new investment opportunities, as well as overseeing our thematic research efforts into various sub-sectors. His primary sector focus is in Software & Data and Tech Enabled Services. Jonathan joined Synova as an Investment Manager in 2017. He previously worked at the global organisational consulting firm, Korn Ferry, and began his career at Skillcapital, a boutique advisory firm to the private equity industry. He graduated from the University of Bristol in 2011.
Max Lawson
Capital Markets Director
Max is a Director in the Capital Markets team at Synova, having joined the firm in 2026. He brings over 15 years of experience in financing and capital markets. Prior to joining Synova, Max held capital markets roles at Partners Group and Montagu Private Equity, where he focused on structuring and executing debt financings. He began his career in leveraged finance at Citi before moving to J.P. Morgan, advising sponsors and corporates on complex financing transactions. Max holds a first-class BA (Hons) from the University of Bristol and is a Chartered Accountant.
Alex Lazare
Director
Alex joined Synova in 2026 and is responsible for partnering with our portfolio companies on the development and execution of their value creation plans. Prior to joining, Alex was Group Transformation Director at The Citation Group (a portfolio company of Hg and KKR), and Director of Portfolio Value Creation at Montagu Private Equity. He began his career at LEK Consulting where he spent seven years advising corporate and private equity clients on growth and operational improvement, across the UK and Australia. Alex holds a degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Oxford.
Lottie Lunn
Front of House & Events
Lottie joined Synova in May 2025 as Front of House & Events Coordinator, bringing with her a diverse background in both recruitment and events management. Prior to this, she studied English Literature at the University of East Anglia.
Tom Meacher
Investment Director
Tom joined Synova in 2023 and has over 10 years of investment and operational experience. Prior to joining Synova, he co-founded a FinTech in London having previously worked at Bain Capital where he focused on Financial Services and Healthcare private equity investments. He started his career as a member of the Private Equity Group at Goldman Sachs working in both London & New York. He holds an BA in Mathematics from the University of Oxford.
Katia Mendonca
Assistant Director
Katia joined the Synova team in 2021. Prior to joining, Katia worked as an Investment Executive at Mobeus Equity Partners where she focussed on growth-stage technology investments, having started her career at venture-backed Fintech, Cleo AI. Katia holds a BA in History from University College London.
David Menton
Managing Partner
David co-founded Synova in 2007 and has since become a leading voice in the private equity industry. With early experience advising a prominent European family investment office, he now leads Synova’s Financial Services and FinTech team. Over the years, David has been recognised with numerous industry awards, reflecting his track record of partnering with exceptional growth businesses. He enjoys working closely with founders and managers to help them achieve their ambitions; he currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at JMG Insurance, DM Financial, and 3173.
Mike Mullally
Investment Director
Mike Mullally joined Synova as an Investment Manager from Alantra (formerly Catalyst Corporate Finance), where he spent three years focused on mid-market M&A transactions across a variety of sectors. Mike qualified as a Chartered Accountant with EY and holds a MEng in Civil Engineering from Loughborough University.
Charlie Mundy
Investment Manager
Charlie joined Synova in 2023 as an Origination & Research Executive in the Software and Data team. Prior to joining, Charlie worked as a strategy consultant at Armstrong, focusing on Pan-European mid-market Software and Technology Services companies, having started his career at Analysys Mason. Charlie holds an MA in Economics from the University of St Andrews.
Anuj Neermul
Fund Accountant
Anuj joined Synova in January 2025 as a Fund Accountant. Prior to joining, Anuj worked at IQEQ for 3 years where he managed a portfolio of Private Equity funds. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over ten years of experience in auditing, financial reporting, taxation, and payroll. He graduated from Brunel University with a degree in Finance and Accounting.
Adam Page
Investment Director
Adam joined Synova as an Investment Manager from GP Bullhound, a tech focussed investment bank, where he spent several years advising on M&A and fundraising transactions with a focus on software and tech-enabled services. Prior to this, Adam qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte and is a graduate from the University of Exeter.
Jonas Samlin
Managing Director
Jonas joined Synova in 2025 as a Managing Director in the Financial Services team. He has over 15 years’ experience of successfully partnering with European Fintech and Financial Services companies, joining Synova from Astorg, having previously worked at Hg and Silver Lake Partners. Jonas is Swedish and studied at Stockholm School of Economics.
Philip Shapiro
Managing Partner
Philip is an experienced investor into technology companies. Prior to co-founding Synova in 2007, Philip worked at Phoenix Equity Partners. Prior to this, he advised some of the UK's leading mid-market technology companies whilst working at UBS and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Philip is a Non-Executive Director of Expana, NEG and Synectics Solutions. Philip Chairs Synova's Investment Committee and leads the Software & Data sector.
Daniel Silverton-Parker
CFO & Partner
Prior to joining, Daniel spent four years at Zouk Capital, a private equity and infrastructure fund manager, where he served as Finance Manager & Head of Compliance. He previously worked at Samena Capital and Man Group Plc, both investment managers. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Ernst and Young, where he spent five years in the investment management team.
Ben Snow
Partner
Ben oversees Synova's portfolio operations, as well as leading on debt and capital markets strategy. He joined Synova in 2020 with over 15 years of experience successfully investing in, and leading value creation in private equity backed businesses across the UK and Europe.
Ben serves on both the Responsible Investing, and Risk and Compliance committees, and is currently a non-executive director of Pacifica and Orbis.
Chris Snow
Assistant Director
Chris joined Synova as an Investment Manager from Horizon Capital, a tech focused private equity investor, where he focused on Tech Enabled Services. Prior to this, Chris worked in investment banking at Torch Partners and EY, providing M&A and fundraise advice to high growth companies and entrepreneurs across the B2B SaaS and Internet Infrastructure landscapes. Chris qualified as a Chartered Accountant at EY and is a graduate from the University of Nottingham.
Aidan Thompson
Investment Manager
Aidan joined Synova as an Investment Manager in 2025. Prior to joining, Aidan worked as a Vice President at Leonis Partners, a New York-based technology-focused investment bank. Over the past seven years, he has advised on mid-market M&A and fundraising transactions across tech-enabled services and software. He began his career as an Analyst at J.P. Morgan after graduating from the University of Leicester in 2016.
Molly Timmis
Team Assistant
Molly joined Synova in October 2024 as a Team Assistant. Prior to joining, Molly worked in Major Donor fundraising at Shelter. She graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in History.
Zachary Tsai
Partner
Zac joined Synova during 2013. Prior to joining, Zac advised private equity houses and UK mid-market companies on company sales, acquisitions, management buy-outs and growth capital fundraising whilst working at global investment bank, Alantra, and in the M&A division of PwC. He holds a Masters in Software Engineering and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. Zac is currently a Non-Executive Director of Expana, Mallcomm and Oakland Care and previously, Tonic Games Group and 4Ways Diagnostics.
Majid Tufail
Finance Director
Majid joined Synova as Financial Controller during 2014. Prior to joining, Majid worked at Augentius Fund Administrators, where he managed a portfolio of private equity funds. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over nineteen years of experience in financial reporting and fund accounting.
Thomas Usher
Partner
Thomas is a Partner at Synova, focusing on investments in software and data businesses. He partners with management teams to support growth and international expansion, particularly into the US market. Thomas is a Non-Executive Director of Synectics Solutions and National Education Group. His previous board roles and investments include Avantra, Tonic Games Group and Expana. Prior to joining Synova in 2017, Thomas was an investor at Summit Partners and Volition Capital. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
Ellie Vaughan
Executive Assistant
Ellie joined Synova in February 2024 as Team Assistant providing support to the Value Creation and wider Synova teams. Prior to joining, Ellie was a Personal Assistant at the University of Warwick.