Alantra advises Synova on its investment in Mallcomm
SECTORTechnology
ServiceM&A
London – Alantra, a global investment banking and asset management specialist, has advised Synova on its investment in Mallcomm (the “Company”), a leading PropTech platform providing management software to real estate investors, asset managers and operators. Synova is investing to support the MBO of the Company led by CEO, David Fuller-Watts.
Founded in Bury St Edmunds as a software division within retail-focused marketing services group, Toolbox, Mallcomm was built by David and his team to serve as the central point of communication between tenants and site operators to manage access, security and sales data collection. Over the last three years, through product development and geographical expansion, the Company has grown by over 70 percent with adoption of the platform more than doubling in 2021. Mallcomm is now deployed across 650 properties covering 400 million sq. ft. across 19 countries with operations in the US, UK, and continental Europe. Customers include some of the world’s largest commercial real estate owners and operators including, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, The Blackstone Group, ECE Group and Savills.
As part of the transaction, Chris Blaxall, an experienced software industry professional, will join the Board as Executive Chairman to support David and the team. Chris was previously a CFO of Partnerize and NBS, as well as having served as an M&A Partner at Deloitte.
In addition to focusing on organic growth, Synova’s investment will provide further capital for strategic M&A to expand Mallcomm’s capabilities and further penetrate other geographic markets and property sectors.
Alantra’s UK Technology team, including Oliver Parker, Sanjit Benawra, Will Fenby and Edoardo Curti, advised Synova.
Oliver Parker, Partner, commented, “It was a pleasure working with Synova on this transaction. Mallcomm has quickly become a leading global proptech provider and has transformed the way retail places are managed. Synova’s investment will support David and his team to continue Mallcomm’s growth globally and expand its services to create further value for its clients.”
Zac Tsai, Partner at Synova and Director of Mallcomm, commented, “We are enormously excited about backing David and his team and supporting their ambition to cement Mallcomm as the category leader in retail-centric, multi-tenanted property management software. David has rapidly bootstrapped and built a business which is serving a range very large blue-chip multinationals and is poised for further growth.”
Matthew Charman, Investment Director at Synova and Director of Mallcomm, added, “Mallcomm is well positioned to build on its robust foundations and impressive client base to become the “operating system” for multi-tenanted real estate. We look forward to providing our expertise in scaling software businesses to David and the team alongside further capital to support strategic M&A.” David Fuller-Watts, CEO of Mallcomm, said, “Synova understood our vision straight away and their investment and support will enable us to develop Mallcomm’s technology even faster. We’re excited about developing new features that support our existing customer base and further strengthen the platform’s property management capabilities and our expansion into more markets.”
