Synova inks first deal from latest fund with Preventx

Greg Gille
16 October 2019

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Synova Capital has made a minority growth investment into Preventx, a UK provider of online-led sexual health testing and diagnostic services.

This is the first investment for Synova's latest vehicle. The GP held a first and final close for Synova IV on its £365m hard-cap in June, after less than three months on the road. The new fund writes equity cheques of £10-60m with enterprise values in the £20-100m range, aiming to make 8-12 platform investments. As with its predecessors, Synova IV invests based on selected themes, which typically include shifting demographics and digitalisation.

Its predecessor, Synova III, is fully deployed in terms of primary investments, though Unquote understood as of last June that the vehicle still had capital available for follow-on funding rounds, in particular to support bolt-on acquisitions.

Synova first met Preventx's management team five years ago and had been following the company's progress since.

Synova partner and head of healthcare Tim Ashlin and investment manager Mike Mullally will join the board.

Company
Established in 2008, Preventx provides online-enabled sexual health testing and diagnostic services. The founders aimed to offer cost savings to local authorities and better end-user experience by focusing on self-sample testing rather than traditional clinic operations.

Preventx claims to provide services to more than a third of all local authorities in England (including a pan-London contract covering 28 boroughs). It has laboratory facilities in Sheffield, with a proprietary software platform for end users, commissioners and clinicians, as well as laboratory workflow and reporting.

People
Synova Capital – Tim Ashlin (partner and head of healthcare); Charles Dale (investment director); Mike Mullally (investment manager).
Preventx – Neil Cooper, Tim Alston (founders).

Advisers
Equity – Osborne Clarke (legal); PwC (financial due diligence, tax); Armstrong (commercial due diligence); Lincoln International (corporate finance).
Company – Deloitte (corporate finance); Mills & Reeve (legal).