24 VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM
OF THE YEAR AWARD
SPONSORED BY LEUMI ABL WINNER NVM PRIVATE EQUITY
Above: Peter Hodson
Right: Hodson with Jonathan Hughes (centre) and Mark Durden-Smith
Four top names lined up for the first award of the evening – Venture Capital Firm of the Year, sponsored for the first time by Leumi ABL.
LDC, last year’s winners of the title, returned to the shortlist once more after a successful year which saw the firm invest £9 million in Speed Check Services, one of the UK’s leading traffic management solutions suppliers – a deal that was described as “great“ by one nomination.
It was also involved in one of the region’s biggest deals, the buyout of United House Group, the urban regeneration business for an undisclosed sum, and it launched the Southern High Growth commitment, targeting regional businesses that require expansion, development and buyout funding.
Lining up alongside them was Palatine Private Equity, which under its previous guise as Zeus, had also been shortlisted in 2010. Palatine’s exit from XLN Telecom, a £78m deal that realised a 4.5 times cash return for investors in just two and a half years, went on to become one of the most talked about deal successes of the night. The firm’s focus now is clearly on investing in regional businesses.
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Claiming its place in the top four, HIG Europe demonstrated the breadth of its current portfolio, which now has more than 50 companies with combined revenues of over £5 billion.
It has acquired more than 200 businesses since it was formed in 1993, with recent deals in the Thames Valley and Solent markets including Fibercore, originally a spinout from Southampton University and now a big player in the aerospace, defence and telecom industries; and Surrey-based Aircom. HIG was described as “very active“ and taking an “innovative“ approach.
The fourth contender for the title was NVM Private Equity, which focuses on investments in the £2m-£10m sector and has a Thames Valley office run by Dominic Ely. One of its big deals of the last year was the £9m MBO of Hungerford-based Kerridge Commercial Systems from ADP Inc., while other regional deals have included an MBO of Cawood Scientific and the provision of development capital for Oxford-based Mantis Deposition.
One nomination for NVM said: “NVM are one of only a few regionally-based investors, a crucial element in any successful transaction community. In
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2011
the last year they have been successful in getting deals over the line and their ongoing commitment to the region is noteable.“
It was down to Jonathan Hughes, regional sales director of Leumi ABL, to open the first envelope of the night and announce NVM’s name as the winner, before inviting Peter Hodson to come to the stage and collect the trophy.
Celebrating his win, Hodson said later: “Congratulations to everyone who won an award. NVM is delighted to receive the VC Firm of the Year award and would like to thank all of those who nominated us.
It is great for everyone in the industry
that the environment for new transactions has improved in 2011. Our team has completed four deals over the past few months and we envisage a strong dealflow for the rest of the year.
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