Synchro, a designer and developer of software for the construction industry, has secured £1.2 million from a consortium of investors.

Synchro, a designer and developer of software for the construction industry, has secured £1.2 million from a consortium of investors.

The funding was led by Catapult Venture managers, which invested £600,000 from its £20 million Advantage Enterprise & Innovation Fund.

Synchro will use the investment 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.

Caroline Green, investment director with Catapult Venture Managers, commented: “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. The benefits of synchronising design and planning are that it increases industrial performance, decreases risk, shortens decision making and delivery times, and reduces costs.”

In March the Synchro board was strengthened with the appointment of Tom Dengenis as chief executive. Following the funding, Paul Heaven, MD of Blue Sky Corporate Finance and part-time finance director for Synchro, also joined the board.

Blue Sky Corporate Finance assisted the management team with the preparation of the business plan. Non-executive board member Heaven said: “The project was completed quickly and efficiently partly because the management team was very experienced in equity deals of this nature and partly because of the enthusiasm, commitment and flexibility of the institutional investor.”

Commenting on the business, he added: “Synchro is one of the first technology companies to deliver the vision of 4D to the construction industry. Many planning applications are already capable of delivering a project plan that takes time, resource and cost into consideration but Synchro delivers the 4th dimension of space in a way that complements and co-exists with contemporary technologies in the market which means that this technology enhances rather than replaces existing technology investments in the sector.”