Molten Ventures has announced the formation of a dedicated team to lead its secondaries investment strategy, a move that reinforces the firm’s strategic priorities of building scale and expanding third‑party capital alongside its core Series A and B investing. Building on Molten’s established track record of acquiring companies and portfolios of high‑quality, mature assets with nearer‑term realisation opportunities, the new team will focus on raising a dedicated third‑party secondary fund to co‑invest alongside the Molten Ventures plc balance sheet.
The new team, Malcolm Ferguson, Nick Sando, and Steven Mendel bring a blend of deep venture experience and operational excellence to Molten, reinforcing the firm’s position at the forefront of European technology investing.
Strengthening a Strategic Growth Area
As private companies stay private for longer, founders, teams, and early investors increasingly face liquidity challenges. Secondaries have become a vital part of the venture landscape, offering solutions for liquidity and capital rotation without compromising company momentum.
Molten has already demonstrated the power of this model with a track record of acquiring both individual companies and portfolios of mature, high-quality assets. The creation of a dedicated secondaries team builds on this foundation, with plans to raise a new third-party fund to co-invest alongside Molten’s balance sheet.
This expansion supports Molten’s strategic priorities: scaling its platform, growing third-party capital, and broadening deal flow alongside its core Series A and B investment activity.
“We are delighted to welcome Malcolm, Nick and Steven to Molten. The secondaries market continues to evolve, and their combined experience will be instrumental as we build a differentiated and scalable secondaries capability. Secondaries are an important part of our platform, complementing our strategic emphasis on Series A and B opportunities by providing access to high-quality, later-stage assets with more immediate pathways to liquidity. Building a dedicated team to leverage our existing platform is a natural next step as we scale this capability, deepen origination across the European venture ecosystem and continue to deliver disciplined, NAV accretive capital deployment for shareholders.”
“Molten has been at the heart of European technology for more than two decades, building trusted relationships with founders, investors and partners across the continent. With that network and experience including liquidity events for companies like Revolut, Trustpilot and UiPath, Molten is in a unique position to take our work in secondaries to the next level. I’m really excited to lead this new team, focusing on great businesses that are a little further along in their journeys and working alongside the wider Molten team to deliver strong outcomes for everyone involved.”
Introducing the New Team
Malcolm Ferguson - Partner, Secondaries
Malcolm joins Molten after over a decade at Octopus Ventures, where he helped scale the platform.He led notable investments including ManyPets, Vitesse, Opensignal, Flock, and ByMiles. Before Octopus, Malcolm held roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and GP Bullhound, and is a graduate of Lancaster University.
Nick Sando - Partner, Secondaries
Nick joins after six years at Octopus Ventures, where he led the fintech investment team, overseeing around 30 portfolio companies and investments such as Remofirst, Neat, Cobee, and TaxScouts. A former fintech founder himself, Nick brings first-hand insight into the operator’s perspective — understanding both the opportunities and the liquidity pressures that fast-growing private businesses encounter. Nick studied at the University of Miami School of Business.
Steven Mendel - Partner, Secondaries
Steven brings a wealth of operational experience as co-founder and former CEO of ManyPets (formerly Bought By Many), which he grew from inception to unicorn status and one of the UK’s top pet insurers. He also serves as Chair and co-founder of Lateral, focused on health and wealth solutions for people aged over 60. Before entrepreneurship, Steven led Wealth Management at Close Brothers and began his career at McKinsey & Co. He holds a degree from the University of Leeds.
Looking Ahead
With this new dedicated team, Molten Ventures is set to accelerate its role in the secondary market backing exceptional later-stage technology businesses and continuing to deliver long-term value for investors and founders alike.