Mainsail Partners has made a $63m growth equity investment in Manchester software firm, MirrorWeb.
MirrorWeb works with financial services institutions to help them communicate through digital channels (including Teams and Slack), capturing and archiving in a fully compliant way.
“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.”
Mainsail’s David Farsai and Garrett Jackson will join the company’s board, along with Romir Bosu, the CEO of Nadavon Capital Partners.
“MirrorWeb’s robust and user-friendly SaaS platform is trusted by organisations globally to help them keep pace with the proliferation of communication channels and proactively improve their compliance management,” explained Farsai, Partner at Mainsail Partners.
“We are excited to partner with the MirrorWeb team to continue to deliver the product innovation and support that helps customers meet their regulatory goals.”
The move for the Manchester software company means an exit for its longterm backers, Maven Capital Partners, which has invested more than £6.2m in it since 2018.
Maven said it has generated a 4.0x return on cost for Maven’s VCT funds, with a 5.1x return for NPIF Maven Equity Finance and will continue to retain a minority equity stake in the company.
“Maven supported us when we were a small start-up business, they believed in us as a management team and could see the potential in what we were trying to build,” said David Clee, CEO at MirrorWeb.
“Following their original investment, they continued to support us through multiple follow-on funding rounds which were critical to the development of both our product and our commercial strategy. Throughout the six years we have worked together, Maven have provided genuine and valuable advice that has helped us to grow the business. The relationship between Maven and MirrorWeb has been a true partnership and I’m proud of what we have achieved together.”
MirrorWeb has had “significant momentum” in the United States and backing from Maven led Clee to relocate to Austin, Texas, where he set up its US base. Austin is also home to one of Mainsail’s two offices.
“This transaction is an excellent outcome for Maven’s client funds, the management team and the business,” added Jeremy Thompson, Partner at Maven.
“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.”
