Nicola Merritt lifts Rainmaker Award – says if you want to make the change, be the change
Nicola Merritt of Cortus Advisory made history last night as the first woman to lift the Rainmaker of the Year award. Just three years after founding Cortus, she was crowned the winner after selection by her peers in the region’s corporate finance community.
Her firm also won the team award in the Due Diligence category.
She said: “We launched to market just over three years ago, and it was a blank sheet of paper. We could do what we wanted, how we wanted, and we just wanted to do everything in a genuine, authentic way. We just want to be normal people. I won a piece of work yesterday, and the guy said to me, you were the only person that just talked to me normally. And I thought, you know, that’s all we are. We’re just trying to do deal making an authentic way, being ourselves. And I think our clients really value that.”
Reflecting on her status as the first woman to win Rainmaker of the Year, she added: “There have been challenges along the way, but it doesn’t have to be like that. I think there’s a lot of diversity in the room with lots of people doing things differently than how we did things 20 years ago. There’s still a long way to go, but if you want to make the change, be the change.”
The winner of the Changemaker Award, succeeding Nicola Merritt who won in 2023, was Catriona Lang from Dow Schofield Watts.
She said: “I set the business up 15 and a half years ago, I know we don’t look old enough, but we decided that we wanted to disrupt the market in terms of big four big accountancy firms offering due diligence, and we did quite well.”
Justin Moorhouse
More than 40 judges from across the region’s corporate finance sector initially met in Manchester to review the deals from the last 12 months, and to decide which teams and individuals have had the biggest impact.
From those shortlist the winners were picked after a one-firm-one-vote process.
The winners were announced last night (3 July) in a packed Midland Hotel in Manchester in a ceremony hosted by comedian Justin Moorhouse.
Michael Page was the headline sponsor of the North West Rainmaker Awards and the category sponsors were Alexander & Co, Datasite, Dow Schofield Watts, Gateley Legal, Gilbanks, Hilco Global, JP Morgan, Leonard Curtis, Rowan, and Saffery. The event was also supported by Campaigner, data partner Experian, and after-party host Manahatta.
TheBusinessDesk.com’s North West editor Michael Taylor said: “Last year I made a promise to the community that we would make serious strides in growing the awards, building our quality Rainmakers platform and finding ways to bring the community together in a respectful and serious way with a major conference.
“We did all of that and tonight was another important step on that journey to give this community the support, space and platform it deserves.
“The whole corporate finance sector has come on leaps and bounds in the years I’ve covered it. tonight’s winners are serious, dedicated professionals who have made their mark in so many different ways. They are an inspiration.”
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The 2024 North West Rainmaker Award Winners
TEAMS
Regional Legal Team – Hill Dickinson
Brabners
Browne Jacobson
JMW Solicitors
Napthens Solicitors
Pannone Corporate
National Legal Team – Addleshaw Goddard
DLA Piper
DWF
Eversheds Sutherland
Pinsent Masons
Squire Patton Boggs
Regional Corporate Finance Advisory Team: Cowgills
Cortus Advisory
Dow Schofield Watts
Hurst Corporate Finance
MHA
Rickitt Mitchell
National Corporate Finance Advisory Team: Clearwater
DC Advisory
EY
Grant Thornton
Houlihan Lokey
KPMG
PwC
VC/Private Equity Team: Palatine
BGF
Foresight Group
LDC
Praetura Ventures
WestBridge
Debt Funder Team: Shawbrook
HSBC
OakNorth Bank
ThinCats
TDC
Virgin Money
Asset-based Lending Team: Shawbrook
Arbuthnot Latham
Close Brothers Group
Cynergy Business Finance
Praetura Asset Finance
Secure Trust Bank
Shawbrook
Due Diligence Team: Cortus Advisory
BDO
Cortus Advisory
Deloitte
Dow Schofield Watts
KPMG
Saffery
Tax Advisory: Claritas Tax
Alexander & Co
BDO
KPMG
PwC
RSM UK
INDIVIDUALS
Rising Star of the Year: Ryan Brown, Browne Jacobson
Tom Chappell, TDC
Grant Goodwin, LDC
Greg Holmes, Palatine
James Kennedy, Cowgills
Katie Parker, Addleshaw Goddard
Rachael Taplin, Palatine
Changemaker of the Year: Catriona Lang, Dow Schofield Watts
Beth Houghton, Palatine
Nicola Merritt, Cortus Advisory
Lucie Mills, NorthEdge
Rebecca Rennison, EY
Lizzy Tindall, Eversheds Sutherland
Rainmaker of the Year: Nicola Merritt, Cortus Advisory
Claire Alvarez, Foresight Group
Giles Chesher, Squire Patton Boggs
Sam Davies, Cowgills
Gary Davison, TDC
Andrew Feeke, MHA
Michael Loudon, Clearwater
DEALS
Private Equity Exit of the Year: Anthesis acquired by Carlyle, with Palatine reinvesting
Eversheds Sutherland, Lazard, Deloitte
MSQ sold by LDC to One Equity Partners
Squire Patton Boggs, Houlihan Lokey, LDC, One Equity Partners
ONFAB sold by Foresight and sold to Savillex
Squire Patton Boggs, Dow Schofield Watts, EC Mergers & Acquisitions, Foresight Group, Savillex
Abbey Logistics acquired by Sitra Group from exiting investors NorthEdge Capital
DWF, KPMG, NorthEdge
Bright Futures Care sold by Livingbridge and management to Charme Capital Partners
Pinsent Masons, Macfarlanes, Clearwater
Findel Education sold by Endless to Manutan International
Walker Morris, Clearwater International, Endless, Claritas Tax
International Deal of the Year: Trawlers, the acquisition vehicle of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Chairman of INEOS Group, acquired 25% of Manchester United
Latham & Watkins, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Slaughter and May, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Cazenove, Raine Group LLC, Rothschild & Co – Red Football LLC
Bluestones Investment Group acquired Australasian Recruitment
Irwin Mitchell, Muckle, Tompkins Wake, Ryecroft Glenton, Translink Corporate Finance
ProofID acquisition of identity governance and administration integrator Regatta Solutions Group
Squire Patton Boggs, Brunel & Dunn
Instem takeover by ARCHIMED SAS
Squire Patton Boggs, Latham & Watkins, Archimed SAS, Moelis & Company UK, NM Rothschild & Son, Singer Capital Markets Advisory, Stifel Nicolaus Europe
Acquisition of Lookers by Global Auto Holdings
Eversheds Sutherland, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Simpson Thatcher, Numis, Peel Hunt, Jeffries
LBG Media acquisition of Betches Media, a US based media brand
Squire Patton Boggs, Zeus Capital
MSS Products and Bryden Capital aquired by Stellex Capital Management
Collas Crill, Hill Dickinson, King & Spalding, Ogier, Deloitte, HSBC, Jamieson Corporate Finance, KPMG
Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m): Management buyout of Resulting IT backed by YFM. Brabners, Hill Dickinson, Alexander & Co, BDO, Blacksquare Advisory, Cortus Advisory, RSM, YFM Equity Partners
Beth Tweddle Gymnastics sold to Gymfinity Kids
Hill Dickinson, Cowgills, CMS
Five Wealth receives development funding from Foresight Group
RSM, Foresight Group
Contollo Group acquired Abacus Cost Management backed by NorthEdge
BBS Law, Abacus Cost Management, DWF, Hill Dickinson, Alvarez & Marsal, Cortus Advisory, Langtons Corporate Finance, Mazars, Royce Peeling Green, NorthEdge, Claritas Tax
The Bury Black Pudding Company acquired by Panicium
Frontier Development Capital, Shawbrook, Squire Patton Boggs, gunnercooke, DTE Corporate Finance, Hurst Corporate Finance, Bexley Beaumont, Gateley
APEM Group acquisition of Nash Maritime backed by WestBridge Capital
Capital Law, Wallace, Dow Schofield Watts, WestBridge
Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m): Waterland Invests in Cumbria Waste Group
Dow Schofield Watts, Waterland Private Equity Investments, Pinsent Masons, Hill Dickinson, DWF
LDC investment into Uinsure
DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Deloitte, GP Bullhound, KPMG, HSBC, Santander UK, LDC
TDC supported LDC in its acquisition of a minority stake in Glasgow based, Kick ICT Group
DLA Piper, TDC
Palatine Private Equity Impact Fund invests in Roydon Recycling
RSM, Gateley, Squire Patton Boggs, PwC, RSM, Virgin Money, Sedulo, Palatine Private Equity, Addleshaw Goddard
BGF invests in Purple Wifi
DLA Piper, Hill Dickinson, GP Bullhound, Hurst Corporate Finance, PwC, Business Growth Fund
Sales of Depotnet to Everfield, an Aquiline Capital Partners backed software acquirer
CG Professionals, MHA Moore & Smalley, Aquiline Capital Partners
Large Deal of the Year (over £50m): Apadmi secures investment from CBPE
Weightmans, CBPE, Addleshaw Goddard, Deloitte, PwC, Clearwater, Alantra
Acquisition of Lookers plc by Global Auto Holdings
Eversheds Sutherland, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Simpson Thatcher, Numis, Peel Hunt, Jeffries
Castore secured £150m funding from backers Raine Partners, Hanaco Ventures, Felix Capital and MNL Nominees
Addleshaw Goddard, Felix Capital Partners, Hanaco Venture Capital, MNL Nominees, Raine Partners
MSQ sold by LDC to One Equity Partners
Squire Patton Boggs, Houlihan Lokey, LDC, One Equity Partners
Anthesis acquired by Carlyle, with Palatine reinvesting
Eversheds Sutherland, Lazard, Deloitte
