About us

Technology M&A Specialists

We are specialists in technology merger and acquisition (M&A) and business advisory services working from offices in London and Montreal.

Our team brings together comprehensive sector experience from operational careers throughout the technology industry. We combine expert understanding of the market with significant execution experience to deliver outstanding results for our clients.

Our DNA

Single minded

Our sole focus is M&A in the technology market, encompassing software, consultancy and IT services

Masters of our trade

All our transaction team are industry veterans who have successfully run, built and exited software or services business across multiple market sectors

Fluent in tech

We talk the IT talk and seek to position the value proposition and strategic opportunity for all parties

Sector savvy

We have deep seated domain expertise covering technology solutions and market sectors in which we operate

What sets us apart

Strategic alignment
We are ambassadors for the companies we represent and aligning the culture and brand of our clients in all our dealings is a critical part of our market approach
Cultural fit
We know what makes a good company and how to find the best home for a business, to protect the legacy, employees and market position for enduring success
Exit planning
We provide ongoing readiness services in helping our clients plan, position and get ready to deliver the next step in their evolution
Global outlook
We are an international business and have conducted transactions across multiple territories
Track record
We have a demonstratable track record of success in both buy and sell side transactions

Meet the team

Jeffrey Jenner

Partner

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Jeffrey Jenner

Partner

Jeffrey was the founder of the M&A practice which eventually became WTA Partners. He is a leading M&A practitioner with a reputation for effectiveness in the mid-market technology space and has held several senior management positions during his more than forty year career in both the UK and USA, including those of CEO, Managing Director and President.

Jeffrey has worked successfully completing transactions and advisory work in a dozen countries for numerous private and public client companies. Currently he is particularly active within infrastructure (cloud and managed services, security or reselling) where he leads WTA’s activities.

Alan Butterworth

Partner

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Alan Butterworth

Partner

Alan is the co-founder of WTA and an entrepreneurial management professional whose work within the technology market, for over 30 years, has covered the breadth of software products, consulting and managed services solutions. He has held CEO, Managing Director and executive commercial roles, with full responsibility for P&L, strategy, commercial development and operational transformation of multi-million-pound business streams.

Prior to WTA he was most recently Managing Director and a shareholder of Cloud Amber, a software products company delivering Integrated Traffic and Transport (ITS) information systems, which he helped grow prior to a successful exit for the shareholders. Alan is particularly knowledgeable on enterprise software solutions and has extensive experience within the transport & logistics sector and the broad public sector software market.

Nick Nardi

Managing Partner, North America

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Nick Nardi

Managing Partner, North America

Nick joined WTA Partners after five years at Harris Computers, an operating company of Constellation Software Inc, where most recently he was a Senior Executive Vice President responsible for the building up the M&A French and UK portfolio for Harris’s Public Services Group.

With over thirty years IT experience spanning four continents Nick has completed transactions up to $25O million and has significant operational and venture capital experience. Previous positions include nine years at Desjardins, the fifth largest cooperative financial group in the world with assets of $227 billion, where he worked on mobile payment systems and venture and buyout financing. He also spent over two years at Opto Security, offering innovative security software for the Transportation and Critical Infrastructure markets.

Mark Lane

Principal

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Mark Lane

Principal

Prior to becoming a Principal with WTA Partners in October 2017, Mark operated as an independent strategy and M&A advisor to a diverse range of IT sector and private equity clients. He has worked on nearly fifty successfully completed transactions and has extensive experience on the buy-side through originating, negotiating and structuring bolt-on acquisitions. Mark has also developed a proven methodology to assist stakeholders prepare their businesses for quality exits.

Between 2002 and 2010 Mark was a member of the management team tasked with the turnaround, following a public-to-private takeout, of business software vendor Cedar Group. He held roles heading marketing, product strategy, product management and M&A and gained valuable experience working with the private equity backer. After several disposals and ten bolt-on acquisitions, the transformed and highly profitable business, rebranded as COA Solutions, secured an excellent exit.

Nick Sonigra

Principal, Cloud Services

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Nick Sonigra

Principal, Cloud Services

Nick joined WTA Partners after more than 26 years within the technology sector. As an entrepreneur, Nick has a wealth of experience across multiple IT channels including distribution, VARs and MSPs and a broad range of technology disciplines such as; structured cabling, networking, security, data storage, compute and cloud services.

In 2008, Nick founded Flow Communications which he successfully part-exited in 2020, to private equity. Nick has been involved in various M&A projects including the recent carve-out and sale of a software licensing business unit. His current projects include buy-side mandates to acquire a large MSP in mainland Europe, datacentres and medium-sized MSPs both in the UK.

Tim Quainton

Principal, Health Tech

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Tim Quainton

Principal, Health Tech

Tim is a healthtech specialist with a lifetime’s experience of IT within clinical environments. Most recently and for eleven years he was with Silverlink Software, a leading provider to the NHS, having been headhunted as COO and later appointed Managing Director. During this time the business made two acquisitions. He left the company in a very strong financial position.

Throughout his career, Tim has seen the benefit of IT within clinical environments. He was heavily involved in the UK’s first MUMPS based pathology system which was then taken on by a number of commercial companies and NHS regional teams. From there he began to focus on IT successfully deploying systems at both a departmental and hospital-wide level. His work has taken him to South Africa, India, Italy, Ireland, Malta and has included multiple large-scale deployments at major London teaching hospitals.

David Braddock

Principal

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David Braddock

Principal

David joins WTA after being involved in smart technology for more than 30 years. His career has included executive stints at HSBC, Mondex electronic cash and Mastercard, he founded a smartcard division for Keycorp which specialised in terminal and healthcare applications. Subsequently David and colleagues created a specialist embedded software company providing innovative and disruptive solutions to the payment and transport industries. He led the company from formation and initial funding through floatation on AIM and the eventual sale to thetrainline.com whereafter he joined the trainline executive team for two years.

His career since then has included working with tech startups and young companies in a broad range of markets helping them grow and prepare for exit. In addition, he has led other companies in providing advanced ticketing solutions for major UK transport operators and works as a Non-Executive Director.

Sean Massey

Principal

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Sean Massey

Principal

Sean has more than 25 years technology industry experience. Prior to joining WTA in 2023, Sean led technology portfolios in Capita and Civica through periods of accelerated organic and transaction growth, completing thirteen transactions.

His insights into what drives buyers helps him provide pragmatic support to vendors positioning their business, products, people and culture to maximise value and deal closure security. He has extensive operating experience in a broad range of markets including local government, central government, education, social care, public safety, health and defence. His coaching led style has helped him develop an extensive network across the UK technology and investor landscape. 

Nick Brown

Principal

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Nick Brown

Principal

Nick is an experienced senior executive in software and technology sectors, having scaled businesses both organically and by M&A. He brings detailed understanding and transaction execution ability in the software and data space to WTA Partners.

With a career in technology spanning more than thirty years, Nick has led teams at Fujitsu, Microsoft and Sage UK. Most recently he served for more than 13 years with AIM listed GB Group PLC, where he was an Executive Director and Group Managing Director. During this time Nick oversaw the development of the business from its roots as a small data company in the Northwest of England into a category leading international software business. He understands the business models of successful software businesses and the role of data creation, sourcing and distribution in building value for companies.

As well as completing multiple acquisitions, Nick has also built effective channel and distribution partnerships during his career, creating alliances, developing joint business plans and providing management advice. This experience helps Nick listen and shape what businesses need to consider as they plan exits and how to create value for all stakeholders in a transaction.

Tim Porter

Principal

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Tim Porter

Principal

Tim has spent over forty years in the technology industry. Most recently, he built a portfolio of vertical market software businesses in the transport sector for Volaris Inc. acquiring ten businesses in the UK, France, Australia and the US. Before that, he led international software and services businesses for Thales and Bull, as well as smaller software companies. Outside his role at WTA, Tim provides strategic and operational advice to software businesses as a non-executive director and board advisor.

Tim’s extensive experience allows him to advise companies on the best methods to increase shareholder value and make them more attractive to buyers. This also means that he can help to allay any concerns about post-close integration, how to evaluate the soft issues of an offer, and how to secure deal closure. He has in-depth knowledge of a wide range of sectors including transportation, local and central government, defence, higher education, energy and manufacturing.

Dennis White

Managing Director, Public Safety, North America

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Dennis White

Managing Director, Public Safety, North America

Dennis brings to WTA Partners more than 35 years operational and business development leadership experience in the enterprise software industry. Dennis has a broad knowledge of many IT segments including Public Sector, Public Safety, DoD, Manufacturing and Distribution. He is known for combining his creative thinking approach along with his CPA process-centric and analytical perspective to his CEO / EVP / VP roles, consistently resulting in the desired sought after outcomes.

Most recently as Vice President for Harris Computers, Dennis focused on leading the business development revenue goals for one of its Public Safety business subsidiaries. As an ‘entrepreneur-minded’ individual, Dennis has worked with many corporate businesses acting as a change agent, assisting each in reorganising how they best operationally position themselves for the future.

Andrew Lockwood headshot
Andrew Lockwood

Principal

Andrew Lockwood headshot
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Andrew Lockwood

Principal

Andrew has over 30 years’ experience of reshaping and growing technology, telecoms, software, managed services and healthcare businesses, most recently as CEO of KFM, a provider of healthcare support services. Prior to that, he was MD of Capita plc’s international healthcare technology and services businesses, and Commercial Director at Daisy Communications Plc. He started his career with BT’s mobile and cable television businesses in London, spent ten years living in San Francisco, working in Silicon Valley at Inktomi, Covad, Concerro and co-founding Graphita Inc, and also spent time working in The Netherlands and Israel. Andrew is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at Synectics plc.

During his extensive career, Andrew has been responsible for multiple buy and sell transactions, and has a keen eye for how to create, develop and articulate value propositions in order to achieve the best result. A natural dealmaker and relationship builder, Andrew understands the need to keep things simple and work at the right pace to complete transactions.

Graeme Millar

Telecommunications Sector Advisor

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Graeme Millar

Telecommunications Sector Advisor

After thirty years in the telecoms and technology sector, with twenty-five years spent at board level and fourteen as CEO, Graeme has been instrumental in the successful acquisition and sale of many businesses. This experience has provided him with the empathy and understanding to advise on the delicate balance required to keep all stakeholders happy and on side during a transaction.

In particular Graeme has significant international experience, having lived and worked in eight countries, for firms including Motorola, Vodafone and MTS. During twelve years as CEO of Jersey Telecom (JT) his team delivered fibre to every dwelling on the island, producing what is still the world’s fastest broadband service. Furthermore, he developed a leading IoT business, Velos, which he then carved out from JT and sold on to private equity.

Adam Jenner

Communications Manager

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Adam Jenner

Communications Manager

Adam is a B2B communications professional with extensive experience in the PR, Marketing and Public Affairs industries. He started his career advocating for the British manufacturing industry in Westminster before working in agencies and eventually starting his own Communications Consultancy.

Having worked within the Technology, Aerospace, Defence, Geospatial and Manufacturing sectors, Adam is used to engaging with complex and technological subjects to deliver compelling narratives to diverse audiences. Past clients have included Toshiba, Conrad Electronic SE, Green Hills Software and Parker Hannifin.

Isabel Kerr

Business Development Manager, North America

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Isabel Kerr

Business Development Manager, North America

Isabel is an experienced business development professional who forefronts our activity identifying, sourcing, connecting, and nurturing prospects for both buy and sell side M&A activity for WTA Partners. Isabel is also trilingual, speaking English, French and Italian fluently.