Rainmaker Awards shortlist revealed
The shortlist for this year’s Yorkshire Rainmaker Awards Lunch has been revealed and winners are set to be chosen in a one firm, one vote system.
The Rainmaker Awards will now be hosted on Friday 13 July at The Queens in Leeds, bringing together the Yorkshire deals community to celebrate the best deals and teams from the past year.
This year’s awards include International Deal of the Year, Public Markets Deal of the Year, Small Cap Deal of the Year and Deal of the Year. Up to five deals were shortlisted in each of these categories by judges Stuart Watson, Liz Richards, Martin Jenkins and Jeremy Shulman.
Firms across the region will be sent a voting link to determine the winners in a one firm, one vote system.
New to this year’s event is the Rainmakers Dream Team. This will allow people in the corporate deals marketplace to nominate firms who should be recognised for their outstanding involvement in deals during the last 12 months, recognising Financial Advisors, Banks, Accountants, Legal Advisors and Private Equity Investors.
The award for Rainmaker of the Year, which recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution during the year, will complete the line up for the prestigious awards ceremony – this year held as a lunch for the first time.
The headline sponsor for this year’s event is Michael Page. Kayley Worsley, Yorkshire editor at TheBusinessDesk.com, said: “With a range of firms shortlisted in this year’s awards, it seems to have been a busy year for deal-makers across Yorkshire. We are very much looking forward to celebrating the successes of the corporate finance sector across Yorkshire at our awards lunch in July.”
Book tickets now online for the revised date of Friday 13 July.
Full shortlist:
International Deal of the Year
1. Proactis Holdings, Wetherby, developer of spend control software, acquired Perfect Commerce LLC, Newport News of Virginia, USA – developer of cloud-based procurement solutions and ecommerce software for the public and private market sectors. The acquisition, valued at £102m, constituted a reverse takeover.
Advisors: Finncap, KPMG, Travers Smith, Walker Morris, William Fry.
2. Animalcare Group, of York, a provider of veterinary medicines and animal identification products, acquired Ecuphar NV of Belgium, developer of healthcare products in a deal worth £34m.
Advisors: Bank Degroof Petercam, Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer, Squire Patton Boggs, KPMG.
3. Tissue Regenix of Leeds, which develops medical technology to make replacement body parts from biological (animal) materials, acquired CellRight Technologies LLC, registered in New Castle, Delaware, USA in a deal worth £23m.
Advisors: FTI Consulting, Jefferies, DLA Piper, Travers Smith, KPMG.
4. Croda International of Goole, a manufacturer of chemical specialities, acquired IonPhasE Oy of Finland, an operator of a company which develops, produces and markets dissipative polymers, in a deal worth £21m.
Advisors: Castren & Snellman.
Public Markets Deal of the Year
1. SimplyBiz, the business advisory firm set up by the chairman of the Huddersfield Giants Super League Club Ken Davy in 2002, completed its £130m listing on the London Stock Exchange, including a £65m fundraise.
Advisors: Eversheds Sutherland, Zeus Capital, Walker Morris, KPMG.
2. Tissue Regenix of Leeds, which develops medical technology to make replacement body parts from biological (animal) materials, acquired CellRight Technologies LLC, registered in New Castle, Delaware, USA in a deal worth £23m.
Advisors: FTI Consulting, Jefferies, DLA Piper, Travers Smith, KPMG.
3. ITM Power Plc, Sheffield, a fuel cell technology company, announced plans to raise gross proceeds of £29.4m through a share placing. The net proceeds of the fundraising will be utilised by the company to provide working capital to support the delivery of the contract backlog and opportunity pipeline.
Advisors: Investec Bank, Burges Salmon LLP.
4. Premier Technical Services Group (PTSG), Castleford, a provider of services engaged in installation, maintenance and repair of safety access systems and manufacture, supply and installation of lightning conductors, acquired Brooke Edgley (Industrial Chimneys) Ltd (BEST), Manchester, for £20m.
Advisors: DLA Piper.
5. Sheffield-based games developer Sumo Digital floated on the AIM in a deal worth £140m.
Advisors: Zeus Capital, Grant Thornton, Addleshaw Goddard, Evershed Sutherland.
Deal of the Year
1. VP Plc, Harrogate, a provider of building equipment rental services, acquired Brandon Hire Group Holdings and its subsidiaries from exiting investor Rutland Partners in a deal worth £68m.
Advisors: PwC, Squire Patton Boggs.
2. Central Square Holdings, Leeds, which specialises in the sourcing, manufacture and management of life-cycle solutions for furniture, fixtures and equipment, acquired Styles & Wood Group (S&W), Altrincham, Cheshire. Financing in support of the deal was provided by HSBC and Tosca Debt Capital. Following the transaction, S&W has formally delisted from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in a deal worth £42m.
Advisors: KPMG, Numis Securities, Shore Capital & Corporate, Hill Dickinson, Pinsent Masons.
3. Hamsard 3436 Ltd, a management buy-out vehicle, acquired Ingenuity Digital Holdings, Harrogate, in a deal led by Dennis Engel (chief executive). Ingenuity Digital Holdings provides search engine optimisation and digital marketing services.
Advisors: PwC, Sentio Partners, Addleshaw Goddard, Eversheds Sutherland, Squire Patton Boggs.
4. Value retailer B&M acquired Yorkshire’s Heron Food Group in a £152m deal. Heron, a discount retailer, operates predominantly in the North from its base in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, with 251 stores in its portfolio. B&M subsidiary EV Retail has now acquired the £274m-turnover retailer as it looks to expand its convenience brand. Last year Heron returned pre-tax profits of £8.6m. It employs 3,800 people. Advisors: Deloitte, BofA Merrill Lynch, PwC, Gordons and Addleshaw Goddard.
5. Private equity firm Montagu agreed to acquire listed Sheffield technology firm Servelec for £223m. Advisors: Investec, Walker Morris.
Small Cap Deal of the Year
1. Gear4Music Plc, York, retailer of musical instruments and music equipment, announced a placing of shares to raise £9.9m. Advisors: Panmure Gordon, Walker Morris.
2. Surgical Innovations Group, Leeds, a manufacturer and supplier of advanced surgical, acquired Elemental Healthcare, trading from Berkshire, in a deal worth £9.3m. Advisors: hlw Keeble Hawson
3. Xeros Technology Group Plc, Rotherham, a distributor and manufacturer of Xeros washing machines, acquired Gloves Inc, USA, in a deal worth £7.7m. Advisors: Jefferies.
4. Management buy-out of Yorktest Laboratories, York, provider of information and support related to food intolerance and health screening. Key Capital Partners (KCP) backed the management team of YorkTest Laboratories on this MBO in a deal worth £8.6m. Advisors: BDO, PwC, Strata, Addleshaw Goddard, DWF, Walker Morris.
5. Northern Escalator Installations, Halifax, secured a £6.4m investment from BGF. Advisors: BHP, Clarion, Schofield Sweeney.
