31 CORPORATE FINANCE TEAM
OF THE YEAR AWARD
SPONSORED BY HSBC WINNER Grant Thornton
Right: The winning Grant Thornton team collect their award from Mark Frettingham of HSBC (second from left) Above: Duncan Lamb of Grant Thornton
Nominations for Corporate Finance Team of the Year, sponsored by HSBC, saw Grant Thornton line up against BDO, HMT and PwC.
Recognised for its work on significant deals through 2011, BDO reported a strong year for both its Southampton and Reading teams. Deals included the MBO and refinancing of Fibercore; refinancing of GCi Telecom; acquisition by Hamworthy; and disposals by ICM, RiskDisk and VADition. One client reported: “An excellent team effort” while another said he would have no hesitation in recommending their services.
Their work supported a strong BDO showing at national level, where the firm was the most active adviser by deal volume in the UK M&A league, and was involved in more private equity deals than any other adviser nationally last year.
HMT, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a CF adviser in the Thames Valley, originated and completed 24 deals in the region in 2011. These included the disposals of Basildon Chemicals, Netmums and Sensornet, all to overseas buyers.
“HMT did a great piece of work, highlighting the key issues and providing support throughout the investment process,” said one nomination. The firm has also
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2012
completed a number of other deals involving distressed companies, working hard to help secure jobs and businesses for the future.
PwC’s year saw it advise on high-profile deals which included the buyout of Wireless Logic, SimplyHealth’s acquisitions, and the disposal of iSoft; as well as Kone’s acquisition of LML and Panasonic’s purchase of John Lay Electronics. The Wireless Logic deal in particular was described as “a hotly- contested private equity process that went right to the wire”, with PwC advising ECI on the purchase from entrepreneur Peter Jones’ Phones International.
One nomination said the full range of PwC’s deals list amply demonstrated the capability of its team in the Thames Valley and Solent regions.
The Grant Thornton team has been integral to a number of headline deals in the past 12 months. These have included the Kerridge acquisition of TIS; the sale of John Good; the MBO of Selection Services; the sale of Kell to APC; and the sale of Security Partnerships to Bytes.
According to one nomination, Grant Thornton has “worked tirelessly to generate opportunities in the market”, while another said: “Its team has an excellent reputation for providing first class corporate finance advice
and for getting deals done in what remains a difficult market.”
To loud applause, it was the Grant Thornton name which Mark Frettingham, head of corporate at HSBC Southampton revealed as the winner.
A proud Duncan Lamb, who was joined on stage by his team, said: “I am delighted for the whole team that we have achieved the recognition they so richly deserve. The success of the team is down to their hard work in both generating and executing opportunities in what remains a very difficult market.
“What is even more pleasing is the quality as well as the quantity of transactions that we, as a whole team, have worked on. This, I believe, is enhanced by the reputation that the team now has in the specific sector specialisms including technology, engineering, retail and healthcare.
“It has been enhanced still further during the year with the addition of the Reading- based transaction support team headed by Bob Alsop, who has had a truly outstanding first nine months.”
www.businessmag.co.uk
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