Shortlist for The Rainmaker Awards revealed
THEBUSINESSDESK.COM is delighted to reveal the shortlist for The Rainmaker Awards – the new awards programme for the corporate finance community.
The shortlist was formed by selected members of the corporate finance community, reflecting the democratic and credible nature of The Rainmaker Awards.
The winners will now be chosen by more than 80 firms from across the region, who will vote online in the coming weeks. The winners will be announced on May 22 at a dinner at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel.
The Rainmaker Awards, a joint venture between TheBusinessDesk.com and Out There Events, are sponsored by: online retailer Boohoo.com, law firm Mills & Reeve; financial recruiter Watson Moore and Clarion Wealth Planning.
Voting will go live on the website next week across 10 categories. Here is the shortlist:
Legal Team of the Year:
Addleshaw Goddard:
DLA Piper
Pinsent Masons
Corporate Finance Team of the Year:
Deloitte
Rothschilds
Zeus Capital
VC/Private Equity Team of the Year:
ECI Partners
Gresham Private Equity
LDC
Palatine Private Equity
Public Markets Deal of the Year:
The AIM IPO and fundraising of fast-growing fashion website Boohoo, led by Zeus Capital;
The AIM listing and fundraise of Crewe-based Conviviality Retail (the parent company of Bargain Booze), which was led by Zeus Capital;
The main market IPO of AO World – the Bolton company previously known as Appliances Online. Rothschild was the lead adviser to the company.
Private Equity Exit Deal of the Year:
Gresham’s sale of its stake in Skelmersdale-based Hotter Shoes, which generated a 3.7x return;
ECI Partners’ exit of Crewe-headquartered Bargain Booze, which made a 4.5x return; and
LDC, which sold its stake in Green Sky Energy and made a 4.5x return on its original investment.
Non-Traditional Deal of the Year:
Manchester-based property company Bruntwood’s £600m refinancing, which included issuing its first retail bond;
The University of Manchester’s £300m fund raising on the bond markets.
The £300m+ sale of assets from collapsed Manchester student housing specialist Opal Property.
International Deal of the Year:
US firm Cardtronics £100m swoop on Crewe-based Cardpoint;
Phone 4U’s £107m sale of its Crewe-based insurance arm Lifestyle Services Group to US-listed insurer Assurant;
Australian legal consolidator Slater & Gordon’s £33m swoop for personal injury law firm Fentons – part of its 2013 spree – which also included Manchester-based Pannone.
M&A Deal of the Year:
The sale of Skelmersdale company Frederick’s Dairies to R&R Ice Cream.
FTSE 100 company Capita’s £57m acquisition of Chorley technology company ParkingEye.
Salford manpower services group Morson’s rescue of assets from stricken competitor Vital Services.
Prolific Team of the Year: The most active lead corporate finance team in
terms of deal volume:
Altium
Baker Tilly
BDO
Clearwater Corporate Finance
Deloitte
Dow Schofield Watts
EY
KPMG
PwC
Rothschilds
Zeus Capital
Further details on the firms’ activity will be available on the Rainmakers website next week, at http://www.therainmakerawards.co.uk
Rainmaker of the Year: The outstanding professional in North West corporate finance. The individuals put forward by the deals community itself are:
Andrew Thomas – Rothschild
Andrew Westbrook – Deloitte
Bod Buckby – Rothschild
Jonathan Boyers – KPMG
Mark Watts – Dow Schofield Watts
Mike Reeves – Clearwater Corporate Finance.
Richard Hughes – Zeus Capital
Tremayne Ducker – Zeus Capital
To book tickets please contact Catherine Craven at catherine@outthereevents.com
For sponsorship details please contact leej.walker@thebusinessdesk.com
