10th September 2007
CAT.91/3

EXCITING TIMES AHEAD FOR SYNCHRO AS IT SECURES MAJOR FUNDING PACKAGE

Catapult Venture Managers has led a £1.2m investment into Synchro Limited, designers and developers of a unique software package for the construction industry. (The transaction process ran very smoothly and took just 31 days to complete).

Synchro, which is based at Coventry University Technology Design Centre, will use the cash injection as working capital and to fund an energetic sales and marketing push to create significant sales traction in the UK - then utilise that success as the ‘launching-pad’ into the lucrative US market.

Catapult’s investment of £600k has been made through the £20m Advantage Enterprise & Innovation Fund (AEIF) which it manages, and is funded by Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund.

Caroline Green, investment director with Catapult Venture Managers, commented: “Synchro is a very exciting company with a dynamic management team. Prior to our investment we undertook extensive customer referencing with key customers and in-depth market research. The excellent feedback from this research convinced us that the business has an innovative software product with potentially immense global demand.

“The Synchro software uniquely enables project managers to literally visualise the building site in 3D at any point during the project and run scenarios of the project plan to optimize the build plan.

“The benefits of synchronising design and planning are that it increases industrial performance, decreases risk, shortens decision making and delivery times; and reduces costs.”

Synchro was founded in 2001, and in March this year the board was strengthened with the appointment of American Tom Dengenis as Chief Executive, who is no stranger to the UK construction industry with his work between 2000 and 2005 with companies Bidcom Ltd and Asite Plc. He is also a construction engineer and he has extensive experience of developing and selling software solutions to the construction industries in the USA and UK. This makes him ideally suited to his role.

The board was further strengthened in September with the appointment of several new board members from industry, academia, and the technology sectors including non executive directors Will Hughes (who is head of school at University of Reading’s Construction Engineering Management program and is also Chief Editor of Construction Management and Economics, the leading international Journal for the construction industry), Kevin Jauncey, who has a strong track record of successfully growing businesses from start-up in the IT and Telecoms sectors; and lastly Paul Heaven, MD of Blue Sky Corporate Finance and part-time finance director for Synchro.

Commented Caroline Green: “The company’s investors recognised the need for a full time sale-led CEO and identified Tom as the perfect candidate to take up the mantle and push the company into the next phase of its development.

Tom Dengenis commented: “With Paul Heaven at Blue Sky Corporate Finance and Caroline Green at Catapult, we were able to work through a well managed and organised process that contributed real value to the company without getting in the way of us keeping focus on our business objectives. Looking forward, we are excited to have them on board as they have a keen sense of our plans and their support is tremendous.”

Alastair Peet, a partner in Shoosmiths’ Midlands Corporate team, provided legal advice to Catapult Venture Managers. He commented: “Investment is critical to innovative businesses such as Synchro. With its winning combination of an exciting product, robust financial backing and a determined management team, I am confident that Synchro will flourish and Catapult’s investment will be realised.”

Legal advice to Synchro was provided by Needham and James.

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For further further media information please contact either Caroline Green on 0121 616 0187 or 07860 288742; or Paul Shrimpton at PSPR Ltd on 0121 354 7311 or 07979 505322.

Note to editors:

Catapult Venture Managers Ltd is a leading private equity fund manager with one of the largest investment teams in the Midlands operating from offices in Birmingham and Leicester. They seek equity investment opportunities from £0.5m to £2m and focus primarily on development capital and buy-out transactions. Contact details for Catapult are 0870 116 3000 (Birmingham), 0870 116 1600 (Leicester) or aeif@catapult-vm.co.uk. Catapult Venture Managers Ltd is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Advantage Enterprise and Innovation Fund (AEIF) is funded by Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund.



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