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Dealmakers triumph at glittering awards show


Dealmakers from across the south packed into Oakley Hall, near Basingstoke, last month for the prestigious Thames Valley and Solent Deals Awards.


And what a night it was – with 12 awards up for grabs, and an audience of 380 cheering the winners.


From more than 300 entries, the competition for the best deal and dealmaker of came down to votes on the night.


Using voting keypads, the audience voted for Paul Russell of BDO as Dealmaker of the Year (over £25m) and Darren Thompson of Meridian Corporate Finance as Dealmaker (under £25m).


For Russell if was a double triumph – as he had also bagged Corporate Finance Adviser of the Year, as a joint winner with Andrew Thomson of HMT.


Another big winner was


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Shoosmiths, winning Law Firm of the Year and Emma Gibson being named Lawyer of the Year.


And HSBC came out on top in both Bank of the Year and, with Richard Povey, Banker of the Year.


Comedian Dominic Holland kept the audience entertained after David Murray set the scene by outlining what a tough 12 months it had been for the corporate finance community.


“Big-ticket deals” had almost dried up, he said, and it was the lower mid-market transactions that were keeping the market alive.


He added: “Many of you are involved in the mid-market and


it’s you who are doing the deals and providing the work for the local CF community.”


Looking ahead, Murray was more optimistic: “Advisers tell us that there is more activity, even if it is not always translating into completed deals. Good prices can be had for great businesses – and of course many corporates are sitting on a pile of cash and hopefully more of that will be used to acquire businesses over the next 12 months. These are positive signs.”


The Deals Awards were sponsored by Barclays, Grant Thornton, HMT, HSBC, Lamport Bassitt, Leumi ABL, Lloyds Bank, Pitmans, and PwC.


For all the results see the full report of the night starting on page 35


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www.businessmag.co.uk THAMES VALLEY & SOLENT DEALS AWARDS2012 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2012


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