diff --git a/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.cpp b/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.cpp
index cf6956454..60232046f 100644
--- a/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.cpp
+++ b/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.cpp
@@ -242,6 +242,56 @@ void exchangeArrays(qcomp* send, qcomp* recv, qindex numElems, int pairRank) {
 }
 
 
+void exchangeSubBufferChunks(Qureg qureg, const vector<int>& pairRanks, const vector<qindex>& recvTagBases, qindex sendTagBase, qindex chunkSize) {
+#if QUEST_COMPILE_MPI
+
+    if (pairRanks.empty())
+        return;
+
+    MPI_Comm mpiComm = comm_getMpiComm();
+
+    qindex sendInd = getSubBufferSendInd(qureg);
+    qindex recvInd = getBufferRecvInd();
+
+    auto [messageSize, numMessages] = dividePow2PayloadIntoMessages(chunkSize);
+    qindex maxTagBase = sendTagBase;
+    for (qindex tagBase : recvTagBases)
+        maxTagBase = std::max(maxTagBase, tagBase);
+
+    qindex numTaggedMessages = numMessages * (maxTagBase + 1);
+    if (numTaggedMessages > getMaxNumMessages())
+        error_commNumMessagesExceedTagMax();
+
+    qindex numRequests = 2 * numMessages * pairRanks.size();
+    vector<MPI_Request> requests(numRequests, MPI_REQUEST_NULL);
+
+    qindex reqInd = 0;
+    for (qindex c=0; c<(qindex) pairRanks.size(); c++) {
+        qindex chunkOffset = c * chunkSize;
+
+        for (qindex m=0; m<numMessages; m++) {
+            int recvTag = static_cast<int>(recvTagBases[c]*numMessages + m);
+            int sendTag = static_cast<int>(sendTagBase*numMessages + m);
+            qindex messageOffset = chunkOffset + m*messageSize;
+
+            MPI_Irecv(
+                &qureg.cpuCommBuffer[recvInd + messageOffset],
+                messageSize, MPI_QCOMP, pairRanks[c], recvTag, mpiComm, &requests[reqInd++]);
+
+            MPI_Isend(
+                &qureg.cpuCommBuffer[sendInd + messageOffset],
+                messageSize, MPI_QCOMP, pairRanks[c], sendTag, mpiComm, &requests[reqInd++]);
+        }
+    }
+
+    MPI_Waitall(requests.size(), requests.data(), MPI_STATUSES_IGNORE);
+
+#else
+    error_commButEnvNotDistributed();
+#endif
+}
+
+
 
 /*
  * PRIVATE ASYNC SEND AND RECEIVE
@@ -533,6 +583,25 @@ void comm_exchangeSubBuffers(Qureg qureg, qindex numAmps, int pairRank) {
 }
 
 
+void comm_exchangeSubBufferChunks(Qureg qureg, const vector<int>& pairRanks, const vector<qindex>& recvTagBases, qindex sendTagBase, qindex chunkSize) {
+
+    qindex sendInd = getSubBufferSendInd(qureg);
+    qindex recvInd = getBufferRecvInd();
+    qindex totalSize = chunkSize * pairRanks.size();
+
+    assert_commBoundsAreValid(qureg, sendInd, recvInd, totalSize);
+    assert_bufferSendRecvDoesNotOverlap(sendInd, recvInd, totalSize);
+    assert_commQuregIsDistributed(qureg);
+    if (pairRanks.size() != recvTagBases.size())
+        error_commGivenInconsistentNumSubArraysANodes();
+
+    for (int pairRank : pairRanks)
+        assert_pairRankIsDistinct(qureg, pairRank);
+
+    exchangeSubBufferChunks(qureg, pairRanks, recvTagBases, sendTagBase, chunkSize);
+}
+
+
 void comm_asynchSendSubBuffer(Qureg qureg, qindex numElems, int pairRank) {
 
     auto [sendInd, recvInd] = getSubBufferSendRecvInds(qureg);
diff --git a/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.hpp b/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.hpp
index e75e889f6..97fcb08a2 100644
--- a/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.hpp
+++ b/quest/src/comm/comm_routines.hpp
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ void comm_exchangeAmpsToBuffers(Qureg qureg, int pairRank);
 
 void comm_exchangeSubBuffers(Qureg qureg, qindex numAmpsAndRecvInd, int pairRank);
 
+void comm_exchangeSubBufferChunks(Qureg qureg, const vector<int>& pairRanks, const vector<qindex>& recvTagBases, qindex sendTagBase, qindex chunkSize);
+
 void comm_asynchSendSubBuffer(Qureg qureg, qindex numElems, int pairRank);
 
 void comm_receiveArrayToBuffer(Qureg qureg, qindex numElems, int pairRank);
@@ -81,4 +83,4 @@ vector<std::string> comm_gatherStringsToRoot(char* localChars, int maxNumLocalCh
 
 
 
-#endif // COMM_ROUTINES_HPP
\ No newline at end of file
+#endif // COMM_ROUTINES_HPP
diff --git a/quest/src/core/localiser.cpp b/quest/src/core/localiser.cpp
index 83a23b921..63759834d 100644
--- a/quest/src/core/localiser.cpp
+++ b/quest/src/core/localiser.cpp
@@ -24,8 +24,10 @@
 #include "quest/src/core/localiser.hpp"
 #include "quest/src/core/accelerator.hpp"
 #include "quest/src/comm/comm_config.hpp"
+#include "quest/src/comm/comm_indices.hpp"
 #include "quest/src/comm/comm_routines.hpp"
 #include "quest/src/cpu/cpu_config.hpp"
+#include "quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.hpp"
 #include "quest/src/gpu/gpu_config.hpp"
 
 #include <tuple>
@@ -893,6 +895,85 @@ void localiser_statevec_anyCtrlSwap(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 ctrls, ConstList64
  */
 
 
+qindex getBitMaskOfQubitsInPattern(ConstList64 qubits, qindex pattern) {
+
+    qindex mask = 0;
+    for (size_t i=0; i<qubits.size(); i++)
+        mask = setBit(mask, qubits[i], getBit(pattern, i));
+
+    return mask;
+}
+
+
+qindex getRankPatternInPrefixInds(int rank, ConstList64 prefixInds) {
+
+    qindex pattern = 0;
+    for (size_t i=0; i<prefixInds.size(); i++)
+        pattern = setBit(pattern, i, getBit(rank, prefixInds[i]));
+
+    return pattern;
+}
+
+
+int getRankWithPrefixIndsInPattern(int rank, ConstList64 prefixInds, qindex pattern) {
+
+    for (size_t i=0; i<prefixInds.size(); i++)
+        rank = setBit(rank, prefixInds[i], getBit(pattern, i));
+
+    return rank;
+}
+
+
+void multiSwapBetweenPrefixAndSuffix(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 suffixTargs, ConstList64 prefixInds) {
+
+    auto sortedSuffixTargs = util_getSorted(suffixTargs);
+    qindex localPrefixPattern = getRankPatternInPrefixInds(qureg.rank, prefixInds);
+    qindex numPatterns = powerOf2(suffixTargs.size());
+
+    vector<qindex> remotePatterns;
+    vector<int> pairRanks;
+
+    for (qindex pattern=0; pattern<numPatterns; pattern++) {
+        if (pattern == localPrefixPattern)
+            continue;
+
+        remotePatterns.push_back(pattern);
+        pairRanks.push_back(getRankWithPrefixIndsInPattern(qureg.rank, prefixInds, pattern));
+    }
+
+    qindex chunkSize = qureg.numAmpsPerNode / numPatterns;
+    qindex maxChunksPerWave = numPatterns / 2;
+    qindex sendBase = getSubBufferSendInd(qureg);
+    qindex recvBase = getBufferRecvInd();
+
+    for (qindex firstChunk=0; firstChunk<(qindex) remotePatterns.size(); firstChunk += maxChunksPerWave) {
+        qindex numChunks = std::min(maxChunksPerWave, (qindex) remotePatterns.size() - firstChunk);
+        vector<int> waveRanks;
+        vector<qindex> recvTagBases;
+
+        for (qindex c=0; c<numChunks; c++) {
+            qindex pattern = remotePatterns[firstChunk + c];
+            qindex mask = getBitMaskOfQubitsInPattern(suffixTargs, pattern);
+            qindex bufferOffset = sendBase + c*chunkSize;
+
+            cpu_statevec_packAmpsIntoBufferAtOffset(qureg, sortedSuffixTargs, mask, bufferOffset);
+            waveRanks.push_back(pairRanks[firstChunk + c]);
+            recvTagBases.push_back(pattern);
+        }
+
+        comm_exchangeSubBufferChunks(qureg, waveRanks, recvTagBases, localPrefixPattern, chunkSize);
+
+        for (qindex c=0; c<numChunks; c++) {
+            qindex pattern = remotePatterns[firstChunk + c];
+            qindex mask = getBitMaskOfQubitsInPattern(suffixTargs, pattern);
+            qindex bufferOffset = recvBase + c*chunkSize;
+
+            cpu_statevec_unpackAmpsFromBufferAtOffset(qureg, sortedSuffixTargs, mask, bufferOffset);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+
 void anyCtrlMultiSwapBetweenPrefixAndSuffix(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 ctrls, ConstList64 ctrlStates, ConstList64 targsA, ConstList64 targsB) {
 
     // this is an internal function called by the below routines which require
@@ -900,16 +981,15 @@ void anyCtrlMultiSwapBetweenPrefixAndSuffix(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 ctrls, Cons
     // the SWAPs act on unique qubit pairs and so commute.
 
     /// @todo
-    ///   - the sequence of pair-wise full-swaps should be more efficient as a
-    ///     "single" sequence of smaller messages sending amps directly to their
-    ///     final destination node. This could use a new "multiSwap" function.
     ///   - if the user has compiled cuQuantum, and Qureg is GPU-accelerated, the
     ///     multiSwap function should use custatevecSwapIndexBits() if local,
     ///     or custatevecDistIndexBitSwapSchedulerSetIndexBitSwaps() if distributed,
     ///     although the latter requires substantially more work like setting up
     ///     a communicator which may be inelegant alongside our own distribution scheme.
 
-    // perform necessary swaps to move all targets into suffix, each of which invokes communication
+    List64 suffixTargs = lists_getEmptyList64();
+    List64 prefixTargs = lists_getEmptyList64();
+
     for (size_t i=0; i<targsA.size(); i++) {
 
         if (targsA[i] == targsB[i])
@@ -917,8 +997,28 @@ void anyCtrlMultiSwapBetweenPrefixAndSuffix(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 ctrls, Cons
 
         int suffixTarg = std::min(targsA[i], targsB[i]);
         int prefixTarg = std::max(targsA[i], targsB[i]);
-        anyCtrlSwapBetweenPrefixAndSuffix(qureg, ctrls, ctrlStates, suffixTarg, prefixTarg);
+
+        suffixTargs.push_back(suffixTarg);
+        prefixTargs.push_back(prefixTarg);
     }
+
+    if (
+        suffixTargs.size() >= 2 &&
+        ctrls.empty() &&
+        qureg.isDistributed &&
+        !qureg.isGpuAccelerated
+    ) {
+        List64 prefixInds = lists_getEmptyList64();
+        for (int prefixTarg : prefixTargs)
+            prefixInds.push_back(util_getPrefixInd(prefixTarg, qureg));
+
+        multiSwapBetweenPrefixAndSuffix(qureg, suffixTargs, prefixInds);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // otherwise, fall back to per-SWAP communication
+    for (size_t i=0; i<suffixTargs.size(); i++)
+        anyCtrlSwapBetweenPrefixAndSuffix(qureg, ctrls, ctrlStates, suffixTargs[i], prefixTargs[i]);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.cpp b/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.cpp
index 59df946e9..0cfec5d3a 100644
--- a/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.cpp
+++ b/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.cpp
@@ -251,6 +251,38 @@ qindex cpu_statevec_packAmpsIntoBuffer(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 qubitInds, Const
 }
 
 
+void cpu_statevec_packAmpsIntoBufferAtOffset(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 sortedQubits, qindex qubitStateMask, qindex bufferOffset) {
+
+    cpu_qcomp* amps   = getCpuQcompPtr(qureg.cpuAmps);
+    cpu_qcomp* buffer = getCpuQcompPtr(qureg.cpuCommBuffer);
+
+    qindex numIts = qureg.numAmpsPerNode / powerOf2(sortedQubits.size());
+    int numQubitBits = sortedQubits.size();
+
+    #pragma omp parallel for if(qureg.isMultithreaded)
+    for (qindex n=0; n<numIts; n++) {
+        qindex i = insertBitsWithMaskedValues(n, sortedQubits.data(), numQubitBits, qubitStateMask);
+        buffer[bufferOffset + n] = amps[i];
+    }
+}
+
+
+void cpu_statevec_unpackAmpsFromBufferAtOffset(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 sortedQubits, qindex qubitStateMask, qindex bufferOffset) {
+
+    cpu_qcomp* amps   = getCpuQcompPtr(qureg.cpuAmps);
+    cpu_qcomp* buffer = getCpuQcompPtr(qureg.cpuCommBuffer);
+
+    qindex numIts = qureg.numAmpsPerNode / powerOf2(sortedQubits.size());
+    int numQubitBits = sortedQubits.size();
+
+    #pragma omp parallel for if(qureg.isMultithreaded)
+    for (qindex n=0; n<numIts; n++) {
+        qindex i = insertBitsWithMaskedValues(n, sortedQubits.data(), numQubitBits, qubitStateMask);
+        amps[i] = buffer[bufferOffset + n];
+    }
+}
+
+
 qindex cpu_statevec_packPairSummedAmpsIntoBuffer(Qureg qureg, int qubit1, int qubit2, int qubit3, int bit2) {
     
     assert_bufferPackerGivenIncreasingQubits(qubit1, qubit2, qubit3);
diff --git a/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.hpp b/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.hpp
index 3dbae057b..fd81e1737 100644
--- a/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.hpp
+++ b/quest/src/cpu/cpu_subroutines.hpp
@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@ void cpu_fullstatediagmatr_setElemsFromMultiVarFunc(FullStateDiagMatr out, qcomp
 
 template <int NumQubits> qindex cpu_statevec_packAmpsIntoBuffer(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 qubitInds, ConstList64 qubitStates);
 
+void cpu_statevec_packAmpsIntoBufferAtOffset(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 sortedQubits, qindex qubitStateMask, qindex bufferOffset);
+
+void cpu_statevec_unpackAmpsFromBufferAtOffset(Qureg qureg, ConstList64 sortedQubits, qindex qubitStateMask, qindex bufferOffset);
+
 qindex cpu_statevec_packPairSummedAmpsIntoBuffer(Qureg qureg, int qubit1, int qubit2, int qubit3, int bit2);
 
 
@@ -202,4 +206,4 @@ void cpu_statevec_initDebugState_sub(Qureg qureg);
 void cpu_statevec_initUnnormalisedUniformlyRandomPureStateAmps_sub(Qureg qureg);
 
 
-#endif // CPU_SUBROUTINES_HPP
\ No newline at end of file
+#endif // CPU_SUBROUTINES_HPP