DEALS AWARDS 2017


THAMES VALLEY


Due Diligence Team of the Year WINNER: HMT LLP


The Due Diligence (DD) discipline evaluates, checks and tests potential deal components, which overall helps underpin the confidence required for mutually agreed transactions.


The final shortlist contained four talented and experienced teams from:


• BDO • HMT • PwC • RSM


Peter Laurie, head of client relations for award sponsor The Business Magazine, was invited to the stage by Bill Turnbull to present the winner’s trophy.


HMT’s exceptionally busy year


The HMT transaction support team provided due diligence


on 17 deals during the TVDA assessment period, including the MBOs of CIPHR, Dalepak, Indigo Telecoms, and 1st Option Safety; the acquisition of Take 2 by Procam, the investments in Thread and My 1st Years, and the investment in Dovetail Games, MPB, Hive Online, Vantage Finance and Newsflare.


Delighted first-time DD winners


While assisting Thames Valley businesses for 25 years, HMT has won an award at every TVDA event since they began in 2007, but this was the first time the Henley-based firm had won this category.


“‘We are delighted to win ‘Due Diligence Team of the Year’ and with five deals completed already this year and a number due to complete soon we are looking


Corporate Finance Team


WINNER: Spectrum Corporate Finance Highlights of a record year


Achieving mutually agreeable deals is an art, and a talented and experienced corporate finance team is often at the heart of successful completions.


Five teams were competing for this prized Thames Valley award:


• Deloitte • HMT LLP • James Cowper Kreston • Spectrum • Wilson Partners


Jon Stradling, MD, Large Corporates, of HSBC, the award category sponsor, teased the audience with a description of the winner as “a firm that had a record year for deals, that continues to grow, and now lays claim to being the largest independent corporate finance boutique in the south – Spectrum.”


18 businessmag.co.uk


Reading-based Spectrum completed 22 deals with a total value of £644 mIllion. Among them were advising LDC on its investment in Rush Hair; acting as lead adviser on the sale of Abritas; the MBO of Westfield Medical; sale of Raymond Brown Minerals to management backed by Elysian Capital; sale of Deverill to 365itms; and investment by LDC into ByBox.


Words from the winners


“It’s a fantastic achievement for the team. We’ve worked really hard this year across all areas, and built a very strong team now that takes on large deals, more private equity and debt advisory aspects, plus, of course, our TMT specialism,” said Spectrum joint MD Simon Davies.


“This award is a fitting recognition for the team that we have in place today, but we are continuing to expand and grow that team – and ‘award-winning team’ sounds good.”


Their experienced teamwork was now also showing in the scale, scope and volume


of transactions handled, he added.


Brexit had caused a business pause, but Spectrum hadn’t lost any deals through it. “Our pipeline is amazingly strong, with bigger deals than we have ever won, and we see the market continuing strongly.”


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2017 sponsored by:


forward to an exciting and busy time ahead. We would like to thank our clients and peers for their continuous support,” said transaction support partner Paul Read.


Later, after he had received the award on stage, Read noted how DD was now increasingly valued for its positive contributions to dealmaking.


“We are increasingly being involved at the early stages of deals to advise clients. I see DD as an integral part of the overall advisory process from the very early stages; with ourselves giving helpful advice on deal critical issues, giving opinions, and making sure that our client knows whether to do the deal or not.”


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