For a full report on the winners visit
businessawards.co.uk
Private Equity Firm of the Year Award
Suitable supportive funding is the lifeblood of many deals, and this award was seeking a PE firm prepared to take on the risk- reward challenges and unlock positive business futures
Winner: LDC
LDC supported the £22m MBO of Weymouth-headquartered MagicCard; and the acquisition of New Forest-based Sandy Balls holiday park; while continuing to back Poole-based BOFA International, which following its MBO, has experienced revenue growth in the past year of almost 14%.
LDC investment director Jonathan Caswell was delighted to receive the award on behalf of his firm, “and the management teams we have been privileged to back.
Lawyer of the Year Award
Dealmaking legal matters can be complex, and the professionalism of individual lawyers can be crucial to satisfactory completions
Winner: Steve Cole (Blake Morgan)
“Deal activity remains relatively strong. There is still flow, opportunity and a great network in the south and we want to continue to support that regional business community. We have a strong team and our appetite remains strong.”
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Other finalists . . . • Altitude Partners • Meridian Growth Capital
Management Team of the Year Award
This award assessed the team at the deal front-line – the management. Judges looked at the deal success itself, but also management’s commitment and record post-deal
Winner: CT Automotive/ ChinaTool
The CT Automotive team prepared the business for MBO back in 2014 when founding shareholders decided to exit. Since then, the business has grown from under $60 million turnover to over $100m, and increased profits four-fold. The complex cross-border deal was led by David Wilkinson, Group FD of CT Automotive.
With several involvements and subsidiaries in China, Europe and USA, making sure the UK- based MBO didn’t cause any
Other finalists . . . • CEGA Group • Hendy Group • Stewart Signs
As Blake Morgan’s banking and finance team partner, Cole worked on several high-profile deals, including the China Tool crossborder MBO, and Project Night, the MBO of a prominent signage company. He also heads the firm’s Islamic finance practice.
“This is a great accolade, but it’s not just for me. It’s indicative of the Blake Morgan team around me and our client-set, both incredibly strong,” said Cole.
“I truly try and understand
Other finalists • Peter Jeffery of Moore Blatch
• Stephen Porter of Shoosmiths
Due Diligence Team of the Year Award
Good due diligence (DD) improves the scope and quality of information available for deal decision-making. It investigates the components of a potential deal, thus underpinning clarity, certainty and commitment
Winner: RSM
cross-border issues was crucial, explained Wilkinson. This was successfully achieved with one of the co-founders, Simon Philips, becoming executive chairman, and a management team created with a good balance of operational experience and corporate skills
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RSM’s well-established and growing team provided financial DD on Onecom’s acquisition of Evolve Telecom; LivingBridge’s backing of the MBO of Dorset Village Bakery; LDC’s backing of the MBO of MagicCard; and Capita’s acquisition of Trustmarque, among a transactions portfolio involving UK and American PE houses, and corporates of all sizes.
Director Phil Rossiter explained there was no DD “template or cookie-cutter approach.” Really understanding the businesses
Other finalists • KPMG • Mazars • PwC
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH COAST – JULY/AUGUST 2017
client needs and make sure to actually deliver on them. It’s about not being a distant banking lawyer, but empathising with clients, seeing it from their perspective, and ‘getting’ the commercial value of the deal.”
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involved was essential, combined with pragmatism and a proactive approach to completion. RSM achieves and maintains its winning standards by knowledge-sharing, mentoring, training in real-life job experiences – “So, we all deliver on a daily basis for our clients.“
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