2021 Rainmaker Awards winners revealed

GCA Altium’s Phil Adams was named Rainmaker of the Year as the North West’s corporate finance finest were recognised at a packed awards evening.
Adams said: “18 months ago we didn’t think it would be like this, we didn’t know if we had an industry. The prospects now are great.”
GCA Altium’s highlights include the IPO of Victorian Plumbing, which Adams described modestly as “pretty good”.
The winners of this year’s Rainmaker Awards were revealed at a gala dinner and ceremony last night.
The full list of winners are:
Legal team of the year: Addleshaw Goddard
Corporate Finance Team of the Year: GCA Altium
Private Equity Team of the Year: ECI Partners
Rising Star of the Year: Dan Matkin, NorthEdge Capital
Funder of the Year: Tosca Debt Capital
Changemaker of the Year: Claire Alvarez, Foresight Group
Small Cap Deal of the Year (Up to £15m): BGF invested £7.5m into Fulfilmentcrowd
International Deal of the Year: Clubhouse Golf was bought by German retailer all4golf
Private Company Deal of the Year: Matillion raised $100m
Private Equity Exit Deal of the Year: 3i acquired animal food manufacturer MPM Products from ECI Partners
M&A Deal of the Year: Palatine’s acquisition of NRG Fleet Services
Public Markets Deal of the Year: The Hut Group’s £1.87bn IPO
Rainmaker of the Year: Phil Adams, GCA Altium
More than 300 people from the North West corporate finance community attended the prestigious awards ceremony at The Midland in Manchester.
The seventh Rainmaker Awards celebrated the deals, teams and individuals that have had the biggest impact in the previous year.
As with previous years, the Rainmakers are different because the shortlist and winners are chosen by the deals community. The shortlist was created by more than 30 senior professionals and the winners were then selected by 100 people voting, with each firm getting one vote.
North West editor Shelina Begum speaking at the 2021 Rainmaker Awards
Shelina Begum, TheBusinessDesk’s North West editor said: “We have one of the most active and thriving corporate finance communities in the UK and this can be seen through the number of deals that have been done over the past year and has been reflected in this year’s shortlist and winners.
“The corporate finance community plays a vital role in the region’s success and we are proud to highlight their work and celebrate their achievements.
“It was also great to be back doing awards again and we are looking forward to hosting more over the next year.”
She added: “A huge thanks goes to all our sponsors and to this year’s judges.”
Headline sponsor for this year’s award was leading specialist recruitment company Michael Page.
Category sponsors included law firm CMS, Manchester venture capitalist firm a2e Industries, and CurveBlock, the property fintech company.
The event was hosted by comedian Jo Caulfield and this year’s event also supported The Standing Tall Foundation as its chosen charity partner.
Click here to view photo galleries from the 2021 Rainmaker Awards:
– the pre-dinner networking at the 2021 Rainmaker Awards
– the Rainmaker Awards dinner
2021 Rainmaker Awards winners photos:
Legal team of the year: Addleshaw Goddard
Corporate Finance Team of the Year: GCA Altium
Private Equity Team of the Year: ECI Partners
Rising Star of the Year: Dan Matkin, NorthEdge Capital
Funder of the Year: Tosca Debt Capital
Changemaker of the Year: collected on behalf of Claire Alvarez, Foresight Group
Small Cap Deal of the Year (Up to £15m): BGF invested £7.5m into Fulfilmentcrowd
International Deal of the Year: Clubhouse Golf was bought by German retailer all4golf
Private Company Deal of the Year: Matillion raised $100m
Private Equity Exit Deal of the Year: 3i acquired animal food manufacturer MPM Products from ECI Partners
M&A Deal of the Year: Palatine’s acquisition of NRG Fleet Services
Public Markets Deal of the Year: The Hut Group’s £1.87bn IPO
Rainmaker of the Year: Phil Adams, GCA Altium