Thames Valley Deals Awards 2024 celebrates top achievers

Another tightly contested Thames Valley Deals Awards saw winners announced in 14 categories that recognised the cream of the region’s dealmaking community.

Winners and finalists were applauded by a lively audience during the ceremony at Reading’s Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The category sponsors for this year’s awards were Gateley Legal, IBB Law, R3vamp, ThinCats, BDO LLP, HCR Law, Crowe UK, HMT LLP, British Business Bank, LDC and YFM Equity Partners. The supporting partners BDB Pitmans and SG Kleinwort Hambros.

Richard Thompson, Chief Executive of The Business Magazine, said the high quality of submissions made judging as difficult as ever. He thanked the independent judges for reviewing every nomination.

“Their contribution plays a significant part in the overall judging process, so a big thank you for your time and effort,” he said.

This year, the independent judges were Sue Elliott at British Business Bank, Jeremy Hill at Kleinwort Hambros, Doug Edmunds at CapEQ, and Peter Jacobs at Apiary Capital.

For the Small, Mid-Range and Large Deal of the Year awards, the judges’ choices made up 70% of the vote. On the evening, the audience vote counted for the remaining 30%.

TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith presided over the awards. During the evening guests raised a significant sum for the supported charity, MNDA (motor neurone disease association).

And the winners are…

Private Equity Firm of the Year – sponsored by HMT LLP

Joint winners: LDC and YFM Equity Partners

“We outperformed the markets in what was a tough environment. We did well due to the types of investment we do and the brilliant entrepreneurs and businesses in the region. We had to work a lot harder this year and with more conviction in what we were doing. That meant getting a better understanding by going ‘under the covers’ of businesses. Looking forward, we see more of the same: we have capital deploy and there are plenty of excellent businesses out there.” Aylesh Patel, Partner, LDC

“It was a really strong year for us – our best yet with investment into new companies, growing companies and also our strongest for investing within our portfolio. Now that we have some political certainty we are in a really strong position to continue supporting SMEs and have lots of capital to deploy.” David Wrench, Partner, YFM Equity Partners

Finalists:

• BGF

• NVM Private Equity

Due Diligence Team of the Year – sponsored by R3vamp

Winner: James Cowper Kreston

“We had a good year and have doubled the size of our team. There’s a lot of activity in the market and we expect to continue strongly into next year.” Nikul Patel, Corporate Finance Director, James Cowper Kreston

Finalists:

• BDO LLP

• Crowe UK

• HMT LLP

• PwC

• RSM UK

• Wilson Partners

Corporate Deal of the Year – sponsored by Deal Ticket

Winner: Fastlane Paint and Body sale to Steer Automotive Group

“This was a really collaborative deal, with a well-run sales process that was prepared well in advance and executed strongly. It led to a good outcome for the vendors and the acquirer. One of the things the vendors were looking for in the deal was clarity of advice.” Matt Lister, Partner, Transaction Services, BDO

Finalists:

• Ambersphere Solutions sale to ACT Entertainment

• Canalys sale to Informa

• Huntswood Group sale to ResultsCX

• Satixfy: strategic sale of UK satellite payload division to TSX listed MDA

Lawyer of the Year – sponsored by BDO LLP

Winner: Rachel Turner – HCR Law

“It’s been an absolutely fantastic year. One of our busiest – we’ve done more deals than ever. This award is recognition for the whole HCR team. We worked with more referrers and contacts in the Thames Valley with a lot of transactions having really solid local connections. It’s been fun and hard work. All the lawyers, bankers and accountants have been working incredibly hard together to get deals done.” Rachel Turner, Corporate Partner, HCR Law

Finalists:

• Adam Dowdney - IBB Law

• Nina Smith - Shoosmtihs LLP

• Sanjeev Sharma - Shoosmiths LLP

• Tom Walker - Freeths

Corporate Finance Adviser of the Year – sponsored by Gateley Legal

Winner: Mark Allen – Crowe UK LLP

“We have a relatively small team that we’ve been building up and that helped us have a standout year. In particular, we closed two large and complex cross-border deals. The team has worked really hard so it’s nice to receive this recognition. In October 2024, we completed over 30 deals and have a decent pipeline, so we’re confident about the year ahead.” Mark Allen, Corporate Finance Partner, Crowe UK

Finalists:

• Andrew Thomson - HMT LLP

• Duncan Lamb - BDO LLP

• Nigel Le Bas - Grant Thornton

• Ricky Lane - HMT LLP

• Sami Farris - KPMG LLP

• Stuart Williams - James Cowper Kreston

• Tim Armstrong - PwC

Law Firm of the Year – sponsored by ThinCats

Winner: Osborne Clarke

“We've had a very busy year in the Thames Valley corporate and banking teams. We've completed a lot of transactions across the corporate spectrum, covering both buyside and sell side M&A, private equity and venture capital. Our team of 20 lawyers has been very active in our key sectors, which has included telecoms, life sciences and the wider technology sector (fintech, cleantech and AI). We have seen particular interest from overseas acquirers and investors, principally from the US and the Far East.” Rob Hayes, Corporate Partner and Head of the Reading office, Osborne Clarke

Finalists:

• B P Collins LLP

• Boyes Turner

• Freeths LLP

• HCR Law

• Herrington Carmichael

• IBB Law

• Shoosmiths LLP

Corporate Finance Team of the Year – sponsored by IBB Law LLP

Winner: James Cowper Kreston

“It’s been another great year for the team following on from a successful previous year, both on buyside and sellside work. Deal highlights for us include YFM Equity Partners investment in Psychology Tools and the Oakford Advisers sale to Centralis. Our pipeline is busy and we’re very confident about the future.” Stuart Williams, Corporate Finance Partner, James Cowper Kreston

Finalists:

• BDO LLP

• Benchmark International

• Crowe UK

• FRP Corporate Finance

• Grant Thornton

• HMT LLP

Lender of the Year – sponsored by HCR Law

Winner: Shawbrook Bank

“It’s been a challenging market with a lot of volatility in terms of the direction of travel on interest rates but we’ve had a really strong year. The market is as competitive as ever and what we’re proudest of is the variety of deals we have done in the region across different lending products, both sponsored and non-sponsored.” Jack Longden, Director, Shawbrook Bank

Finalists:

• Lloyds Bank

• NatWest

• Tower Leasing

• ThinCats

• Triple Point Private Credit

Young Dealmaker of the Year – sponsored by YFM Equity Partners

Winner: Laurel Knight – Gateley Legal

“Highlights of the year for me include a couple of deals that are finalists at these awards: the MBO of DSP and the Huntswood Group sale to ResultsCX. They were fantastic deals to be involved with. It’s been a busy year for everyone, but I work well under pressure, so this year has been a test of that ability.” Laurel Knight, Senior Associate, Gateley Legal

Finalists:
• Jack Griggs - James Cowper Kreston

• Luke Boles - Benchmark International

• Nikul Patel - James Cowper Kreston

• Trysten Cullen - LDC

Lifetime Achievement Award – sponsored by The Business Magazine.

Winner: Jonathan Caswell - LDC

“I’m delighted with this recognition but I’m only a small part contributing to a fantastic team that’s doing great things and long may it continue. I succeed as a consequence of working in a brilliant region with lots of great advisers and plenty of deal activity. If anything, I think we are all as hungry for deals today as we ever were. LDC has a strong team that makes deals happen and helps businesses to grow. Another important aspect for me is mentoring our team to help people come through the ranks and share the firm’s ambition.” Jonathan Caswell, Origination Director, LDC

Small Deal of the Year – sponsored by LDC

Winner: Psychology Tools investment by YFM Equity Partners

Finalists:

• Aurora Health Physics Services acquisition

• Educake sale to Twinkl

• Lifecast Body Simulation sale to 3B Scientific

• March Foods sale to Delightful Food Group

• UniAdmissions sale to Testbusters

Mid-range Deal of the Year – sponsored by Crowe UK

Winner: MBO of Message Direct backed by LDC

Finalists:

• Amane Advisors & Partners sale to Roland Berger

• Garner Osborne Circuits sale

• MBO of Smart Numbers backed by YFM Equity Partners

• Oakford Advisers sale to Centralis Group

Large Deal of the Year – sponsored by British Business Bank

Winner: NVM Private Equity sale of Pareto FM

Finalists:

• Flooid Sale to Glory Global Solutions

• Focus Group investment

• MBO of DSP

David Murray Dealmaker of the Year – sponsored by The Business Magazine
Winner: Adam Dowdney – IBB Law

“It’s been such a busy year for everyone in the Thames Valley dealmaking community. The Autumn Budget meant there’s been a huge amount of deal generation going on. For me, it’s been great to be part of it. I’m very honoured to receive this award as there are a lot of excellent dealmakers out there who put a lot into the Thames Valley deals community. I think the key to success is working collaboratively, working hard and doing all you can to get deals over the line.” Adam Dowdney, Partner and Head of the Reading Office, IBB Law