Manchester tech firm MirrorWeb has secured a growth equity investment worth almost £50 million from US firm Mainsail Partners.
The deal is for a majority stake in the compliance and preservation software provider and sees long-term investor Maven Capital Partners achieve a 5.1x return on the investment of NPIF Maven Equity Finance and 4x return for the Maven VCTs.
MirrorWeb has built significant momentum in the US thanks to its platform Insight, which empowers financial services institutions to communicate via a comprehensive array of modern channels, capturing and archiving in a fully compliant way, and enabling the world’s largest financial institutions to meet strict record-keeping requirements.
“Regulators have never been more focused on ensuring the integrity of financial markets, protecting investors and preventing systematic risk to our economy,” said David Clee, co-founder and CEO of MirrorWeb.
“Mainsail’s investment and operational resources will help us continue to support financial institutions as they navigate this environment and to meet their compliance and digital preservation needs.”
Founded in 2016, MirrorWeb also serves governments and other regulated industries across the globe. As part of the investment, David Farsai and Garret Jackson of Mainsail Partners will join the MirrorWeb board of directors, along with Romir Bosu, CEO of Nadavon Capital Partners.
Maven first supported MirrorWeb in 2018 through NPIF Maven Equity Finance to enable the business to roll out its innovative technology. At that point, MirrorWeb was an emerging business with low revenues and high customer concentration.
Over multiple funding rounds, which latterly included investment from the Maven VCTs, the business grew rapidly, taking Maven’s total investment in MirrorWeb to over £6.2m.
The funding enabled MirrorWeb to enter the US market, with CEO Clee relocating to Austin, Texas to lead the company’s go-to-market strategy and invest heavily in product development.
Jeremy Thompson, partner at Maven, said: “This transaction is an excellent outcome for Maven’s client funds, the management team and the business. MirrorWeb’s story demonstrates what an ambitious Manchester-based business can achieve when a talented leadership team is provided with the right support and funding.
“The structure of the deal also allows our VCT funds to retain an equity stake in MirrorWeb post-transaction, which was a key objective based on our knowledge of the business and the team who we expect to continue to deliver significant growth and shareholder value.
“It has been an absolute privilege to work with this team, led by David Clee, who have successfully opened up the US market. David’s decision to relocate to the US demonstrates his entrepreneurial drive and is a testament to his leadership.”
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