The future of the region's vibrant corporate finance economy was assured and underlined last night in the form of two very competent young dealmakers – Mark Metcalfe of Gateley plc and David Wrench of BDO, formerly with Grant Thornton – joint award-winners at the Thames Valley Deals Awards (TVDA).
Both produced dealmaking performances of high quality during the year, said the TVDA judges who assessed them equally as winners of the prized Young Dealmaker of the Year Award at the south’s annual, biggest and most prestigious corporate finance evening.
Both under 35-year-olds have gained valuable experience with Thames Valley firms during their careers.
Business adviser Wrench, who moved from Grant Thornton to BDO in September last year, led on two complex high-profile MBO deals, plus sale and refinancing deals during the TVDA assessment period.
Gateley senior associate lawyer Metcalfe successfully completed numerous transactions in the 20 months he has been at the AIM-listed firm.
“This year’s 600-plus Deals Awards nominations are testament to the hyperactive deals economy in the Thames Valley and the skills of the corporate finance advisers, lawyers, bankers and other funders who get those transactions across the line,” announced David Murray, founder of The Business Magazine, as he welcomed 370 guests to the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre, Reading.
“Ambitious management teams, business founders, corporate boards and investors all benefit from the wealth of talent here in the room this evening,” he added.
The evening's winners included PE firm Connection Capital, law firm Gateley plc, corporate finance adviser Spectrum, and bank HSBC. The full list is below.
THAMES VALLEY DEALS AWARDS 2018 WINNERS
Private Equity Firm of the Year – sponsored by HMT
Winner: Connection Capital
Other finalists: BGF, Inflexion, LDC, Maven Capital Partners, NVM
Alternative Lender of the Year – sponsored by Vail Williams
Winner: Leumi ABL
Other finalist: The FSE Group/Thames Valley Berkshire Funding Escalator
Lawyer of the Year – sponsored by BDO
Winner: Rob Wood, Osborne Clarke
Other finalists: Rob Hayes, Penningtons Manches; Andrew Peddie, Gateley plc; Stephanie Perry, Pitmans Law; Sara Valentine, Osborne Clarke
Due Diligence Team of the Year – sponsored by Coffin Mew
Winner: PwC
Highly Commended: Crowe Clark Whitehill
Other finalists: BDO, HMT LLP, KPMG, RSM, Wilson Partners
Management Team of the Year – sponsored by PwC
Winner: Hogg Robinson
Other finalists: Alpha FX, Clifford Thames, Hunter Macdonald, TeamSport
Corporate Finance Adviser of the Year – sponsored by Gateley plc
Winner: Wendy Hart, Grant Thornton
Other finalists: Simon Davies, Spectrum Corporate Finance; Clive Hatchard, Spectrum Corporate Finance; Ian Milne, Spectrum Corporate Finance; Andrew Thomson, HMT LLP
Law Firm of the Year – sponsored by Grant Thornton
Winner: Gateley plc
Other finalists: IBB Solicitors, Osborne Clarke, Penningtons Manches, Pitmans Law, Shoosmiths
Corporate Finance Team of the Year – sponsored by HSBC
Winner: Spectrum Corporate Finance
Other finalists: Grant Thornton, HMT LLP, James Cowper Kreston, Wilson Partners
Bank of the Year – sponsored by Crowe Clark Whitehill
Winner: HSBC
Other finalists: Clydesdale Bank, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander
Young Dealmaker of the Year (under 35) – sponsored by IBB Solicitors
Joint Winners: Mark Metcalfe, Gateley plc and David Wrench, BDO, formerly with Grant Thornton
Other finalists: Richard Boyden, Spectrum Corporate Finance; Adrian Howells, HMT LLP; Mark Kennedy, Deloitte; and Miles Otway, Connection Capital
Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m) – sponsored by Deals Update ONLINE
Winner: Rowan International MBO supported by Connection Capital - involving Gateley, Connection Capital, John Cleland, Lloyds Bank, HMT.
Acturis Group acquisition of ICE InsureTech
Indigo Telecom Group acquisition of Belcom247
NVM Private Equity investment in Knowledgemotion
LDC investment in IP Solutions
Xeretec acquisition of Landscape Holdings
Mid-Range Deal of the Year (£10m- £50m) – sponsored by Shoosmiths
Winner: Roc Technologies growth supported by BGF - involving Grant Thornton, Osborne Clarke, Shoosmiths, BGF, HSBC, Crowe Clark Whitehill, KPMG.
Lucid Group Communications, MBO
Magal Engineering sale to Arlington Industries
SecurEnvoy reverse takeover by Shearwater Group
Tempcover, MBO supported by Connection Capital
XP Power acquisition of Comdel Inc
Large Deal of the Year (above £50m) – sponsored by The Business Magazine
Winner: Xtrac acquisition by Inflexion/MBO - involving Cavendish Corporate Finance, PwC, Shoosmiths, Boyes Turner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Hogan Lovells, Inflexion PE, HSBC, Deloitte, Roland Berger, Hazelwoods.
Hogg Robinson Group plc sale to Global Business Travel (Amex) and Visa
Clifford Thames sale to OE Connection Inc
Alpha FX Group plc, AIM IPO
Readypower Engineering, MBO backed by Primary Capital Partners
TI Fluid Systems IPO – listing on main market
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