The Rainmaker Awards 2015 winners revealed

THE £620m sale of the Co-operative Pharmacy and the near £500m take-private of Lancashire IT and communications group Daisy were among the deals celebrated at The Rainmakers Awards 2015 last night.

The Rainmakers Awards – where the shortlisted deals and winners are chosen by the funders, lawyers and advisers themselves – saw a second year of success for Richard Hughes, co-founder of King Street-based financial advisory firm Zeus Capital.

Click here to see a picture gallery from the awards.

Hughes saw off stiff competition from Equistone’s Steve O’Hare,  Altium’s Phil Adams and Andy Thomas of Rothschild, to be named Rainmaker of the Year – the individual award for the region’s outstanding corporate finance professional.

Zeus Capital, after another year of success on the public markets with IPOs and fund-raisings, also retained its title for Corporate Finance team of the year.

Major highlights for Zeus in the period included acting as joint broker to AIM-listed Haversham in its £1bn+ reverse takeover of British Car Auctions, the AIM flotation of Manchester-based home improvements company entu and the sale for up to $130m of Brabant Pharma to US firm Zogenix.

Hughes said: “It’s a great team effort by everyone in the business. It’s a great credit to everyone in the region, including the other nominated cadidates Phil, Steve and Andrew, for what they have achieved over the last 12 months. It feels great to be respected by people in the business community.

“BCA was obviously a big transaction, but there have been other smaller deals of significance also. For example, the 4D Pharma which made the announcement earlier this week about a possible breakthrough in treatment for MS. We did three fundraising rounds and raised £70m and its shares have gone up five fold. If that (treatment) does pan out, hopefully a lot people will be cured.”

He said he planned to continue growing the Zeus team, particularly in London, where it has been on a hiring drive of late.
 
The advisers behind the vital Co-op Pharmacy sale for £620m to Bestway, Rothschild and law firm Addleshaw Goddard, collected the M&A deal award, while Addleshaws made it a double, as it took the coveted title of Legal Team of the Year.

The team’s highlights included advising on Equistone’s investment in Bolton-based Travel Counsellors, KKR’S acquisition of a stake in retailer The Hut Group and acting for Zeus on the Haversham Holdings/BCA deal.
 
There was consolation for rival Eversheds as its work for long-time client Daisy, was acknowledged in the Public Markets Deal category.

Eversheds advised Daisy Group on its £494m buyout by a consortium comprising founder Matt Riley, Toscafund and Penta Capital.  The firm’s team led by Danny Hall and Stephen Nash acted for Daisy and a separate team acted for Riley on his equity investment in the bidding vehicle.

Reflecting the strength and depth of the private equity community in Manchester – which is one of the largest of any regional city in Europe – there was fierce competition for the two PE-related categories.

LDC triumphed in the Private Equity Exit deal of the year after its 4x equity return on its investment in Manchester wireless internet specialist Metronet (UK). The team exited as Living Bridge completed a £45m secondary buyout in 2014.

Newcomer NorthEdge, which has had an active year investing its maiden fund, was voted Private Equity Team of the Year.

The mid-market firm’s biggest deal to date, a £66m investment in Blackburn soft tissue manufacturer Accrol Papers, was a highlight of a busy 2014/15, which also saw deals for law firm Roberts Jackson and more recently North West gyms chain Total Fitness.

The firm’s £11m investment in Solidor, a door maker based in Stoke-on-Trent, also took the Small Cap Deal (value up to £15m), with advisers including Altium, KPMG and Pinsent Masons.

Manchester-based corporate finance firm Convex Capital’s outstanding success in selling Midlands-based e-cigarettes firm Nicolites to global tobacco company Philip Morris for around £110m, was a clear winner in the International Deal of the Year category.

Funder of the Year, a new category for 2015, was won by Lloyds Bank, ahead of HSBC and PNC Business Credit.

Chris Barry, editor of TheBusinessDesk said: “Congratulations to all the winners and the shortlisted firms. The quality, creativity and talent in Manchester and the wider region is clear to see.

“I hope that by highlighting the strength of the deals community through these awards, businesses will see Manchester, not London as the automatic choice for corporate finance advice.”

Marcie Incarico, managing director of Out There Events, added: “The North West has a fantastic corporate finance community and The Rainmaker Awards highlight its strength and depth.

“We look forward to ‘bringing the rain’ to Leeds later this month and are sure it will be well-received as a fresh and vibrant concept there too.”

The Rainmaker Awards, a joint venture between TheBusinessDesk and Out There Events and in partnership with pro.manchester, was sponsored by Real Estate, Mills & Reeve and financial recruiter Watson Moore.

More than 300 people attended the event at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester hosted by comedian Justin Moorhouse.

The Rainmakers 2015 Winners in full:

Legal Team of the Year: Addleshaw Goddard

Corporate Finance Team of the Year: Zeus Capital

VC/Private Equity Team of the Year: NorthEdge Capital

Funder of the Year: Lloyds Banking Group

Public Markets Deal of the Year:  NW advisers in brackets:  Take private of Daisy Group (EY, Eversheds)

Private Equity Exit Deal of the Year: LDC’s 4x exit from Metronet (UK)  in £45m secondary buyout by Living Bridge. (Altium; PwC; Gateley; Pinsent Masons)

International Deal of the Year: £110m sale of UK  e-cigarettes firm Nicolites to US tobacco giant Phillip Morris (Convex Capital)

M&A Deal of the Year: £620m sale of The Co-operative Pharmacy to Bestway (Rothschild, Addleshaw Goddard, KPMG, EY);

Small-Cap deal of the Year (up to £15m):  £11m investment by private equity firm NorthEdge Capital in door manufacturer Solidor (Altium, KPMG, Pinsent Masons)

Rainmaker of the Year
Richard Hughes – Zeus Capital