Thames Valley: Winners revealed at Thames Valley Deals Awards gala night

Nominations have tripled within three years for the Thames Valley Deals Awards – a triple confirmation of the buoyancy of the local corporate finance arena, of the sustained UK economic recovery, and the growing status of the Deals Awards.

After this year’s record 660 nominations were processed by the Thames Valley Magazine events team, a number of firms and the awards judges themselves were canvassed about the dramatic increase in entries. The general consensus was that 2014 was a good year for deals, and the scene is set for an even higher level of deal activity in 2015.

“Merger and acquisition activity hit a new peak worldwide in 2014, and private equity activity was at its highest point since 2007,” David Murray, founder and publisher of The Business Magazine, told 350 gala guests at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre.

“Globally there has been a big increase in companies expecting to do deals in the next 12 months. Most surveys are also showing that mid-market M&A activity will increase further this year, even after such a positive year in 2014.

Noting that healthy corporate balance-sheets and an ever-expanding market portfolio of funders augured well for 2015, Murray modestly mentioned that “…the 660 nominations also suggest we are creating a well-established, rigorous and respected Deals Awards process.”

One theme that stood out during the judging process was the number of new and alternative sources of capital for companies considering acquisitions, and management teams pondering buyouts.

“The number of private equity firms, for instance, doing business in the Thames Valley was evidenced by the 12 firms that entered the PE category, and the six chosen as finalists.

“In the alternative lender category, there is more variety too, with welcome new sources of debt and equity funding for small companies and start-ups with potential. All this, coupled with more appetite for risk by the banks, has helped get the deals scene moving,” Murray explained.

Murray paid tribute to the Deals Awards judging panel for their professional knowledge, before thanking the event’s supporting sponsors – BCMS, Grant Thornton, HMT, HSBC, Leumi ABL, Pitmans, PwC, Shoosmiths, Taylor Made Computer Solutions, UBS and Wilson Partners.

Host and celebrity guest for the evening was TV and radio comedian and best-selling author Tony Hawks, whose lively style and ad-libbing ensured an entertaining flow to the awards programme.

Awards took place throughout the evening, between courses of an excellent four-course dinner. Guests also used table keypads to vote on the night for three of the award winners – Dealmaker of the Year, and two Deal of the Year categories. To avoid undue influence by the event guest-list demographic, table-voting was weighted by the judging panel’s prior evaluation of the nominees.

As is tradition at the Deals Awards there was one assured winner – the chosen charity of the event. This year Brain Tumour Research benefited by £3,746 with corporate finance guests showing their generosity through personal donations.

The charity has targeted the establishment of seven Centres of Excellence across the UK dedicated to brain tumour research, four of which have now been opened.

Images from the evening can be viewed here.

Thames Valley deals Awards winners 2015

Private Equity Firm of the Year - sponsored by HMT LLP

Winner: LDC
Other finalists:

• Connection Capital
• NVM
• Percipient Capital
• Sovereign Capital

Alternative Lender of the Year - sponsored by Wilson Partners

Winner: Thames Valley Berkshire Funding Escalator (FSE Group, LEP)

Other Finalists:

• Leumi ABL
• Praesidian Capital Europe

Lawyer of the Year - sponsored by Taylor Made

Winner: Andrew Peddie (Pitmans)

Other Finalists:

• Keith Syson (Stevens & Bolton)
• Greg Leyshon (Osborne Clarke)
• Hugh Jones (Osborne Clarke)
• Andrew Peddie (Pitmans)
• Emma Gibson (Shoosmiths)
• Adam Dowdney (Shoosmiths)

Due Diligence Team of the Year - sponsored by Shoosmiths

Winner: PwC

Other Finalists:

• Baker Tilly
• Grant Thornton
• HMT

Management Team of the Year - sponsored by PwC

Winner: Bob Flaconer (Gamma Communications)

Other Finalists:

• EPI Group
• Skyscape

Corporate Finance Adviser of the Year - sponsored by HSBC

Winner: Andrew Thomson (HMT)

Other Finalists:

• Adrian Dray (Quercus)
• Duncan Lamb (Grant Thornton)
• Ian Barton (HMT)
• Ian Milne (Spectrum)

Law Firm of the Year - sponsored by Grant Thornton

Winner: Shoosmiths

Other Finalists:

• Osborne Clarke
• Pitmans
• Stevens & Bolton

Corporate Finance Team of the Year - sponsored by Leumi ABL

Winner: Grant Thornton

Other Finalists:

• Deloitte
• HMT
• James Cowper Kreston
• Spectrum Corporate Finance

Bank of the Year - sponsored by BCMS

Winner: HSBC

Other Finalists:

• RBS
• Santander

Dealmaker of the Year - sponsored by Pitmans

Winner: James Austin (Business Growth Fund)

Other Finalists:

• Andrew Thomson (HMT)
• Duncan Lamb (Grant Thornton)
• Simon Davies (Spectrum)
• Yann Souillard (LDC)

Deal of the Year - over £25m and under £25m deal value - sponsored by UBS

Deals over £25m

Winner: Clifford Thames (MBO)

Other Finalists:

• Amec acquisition of Foster Wheeler
• Micro Focus acquisition of Attachmate
• Millgate merger with Countryside
• Microlease acquisition of Livingston Group

Deals under £25m

Winner: Skyscape Cloud Services (growth funding)

Other Finalists:

• Cooper Callas (MBI)
• Connect Communications (MBO)
• Acal Enterprise Solutions (MBO)