The Rainmaker Awards 2016 shortlist revealed

THE region’s top deals and the corporate financiers, lawyers and funders behind them, have been shortlisted for The Rainmaker Awards 2016.

Featured deals include the IPO of online discount holiday provider On the Beach, based in Cheadle; the secondary buy-out of Citation, a health and safety outsourcing firm, from ECI Partners for £185m; and the purchase of architect firm BDP by Japan’s Nippon Koei Co.

This year sees the introduction of two new categories – recognising a young Rising Star in the community and the Small Cap Deal of the Year.

There are three names on the list for the prestigious Rainmaker title – the outstanding professional in the North West community who has been at the heart of significant activity during the last year. They are Gary Tipper of Palatine Private Equity, Nick Cowles of Zeus Capital and Richard Hughes, also of Zeus Capital, who has won the award for the last two years.

Team category shortlists were drawn up after extensive research using Experian CorpFin data. The deals and individual shortlists were created by a panel of more than 30 members of the corporate finance community, reflecting the democratic and credible nature of The Rainmaker Awards.

The winners will now be chosen, on a one firm, one vote basis, by more than 100 professional firms, who will vote online in the coming weeks. The winners will be announced at a dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Manchester on June 30.

The Rainmaker Awards, a joint venture between TheBusinessDesk.com and Out There Events, are sponsored by accountancy firm CLB Coopers and financial recruiter Axon Moore.

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Voting will go live on the website next week across 12 categories. The shortlist is:

Legal Team of the Year:

The firm whose work has spanned not just one significant deal, but has been consistently at the heart of the key transactions in the region over the past 12 months.

-DLA Piper
-Squire Patton Boggs
-Gateley
-DWF
-Eversheds
-Addleshaw Goddard

Corporate Finance Team of the Year:

The team that has led the way in the region. The shortlisted teams will have been consistently at the epicentre of significant transactional activity.

-Deloitte
-Investec
-BDO
-Rothschild
-Zeus
-PwC

VC/Private Equity Team of the Year:

Fund-raisings, investment activity and successful exits should be taken into account, as well as the return on investment that the house has generated within the past 12 months.

-LDC
-Seneca
-Business Growth Fund
-ECI Partners
-Inflexion
-Palatine Private Equity

Funder of the Year:

This award recognises the most active player in the regional corporate finance market in terms of both the quantity and quantum.

-Santander
-RBS/Natwest
-Barclays
-HSBC
-Lloyds Banking Group

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Prolific Team of the Year:

The advisory or legal firms which have been most active by deal volume in the period.

-Brabners
-Gateley
-DWF
-Addleshaw Goddard
-BDO
-RSM
-Dow Schofield Watts

Public Markets Deal of the Year:
 
This award is looking to recognise the Public Markets deal – IPO, acquisition or disposal – that has achieved significance through either value, complexity or strategic importance.

-Reverse takeover by Conviviality, trading as Bargain Booze, of Matthew Clark for £198.4m (Rothschild, Zeus, DLA Piper, Eversheds)

-IPO of On the Beach, which raised £96m and gave it an initial market capitalisation of £240m (PwC)

-NCC Group’s acquisition of Fox-IT Holding BV for £93.8m, funded by a share placing which raised £126.3m (Rickitt Mitchell, Eversheds)

Private Equity Exit Deal of the Year:

This category speaks for itself – the most successful ROI from a portfolio investment.

-Acquisition of Bifold by Rotork Plc for £125m, providing an exit for LDC. (Altium, Addleshaw Goddard)

-Secondary buy-out of Citation from ECI Partners for £185m, led by HG Capital. ECI generated a multiple of 5.4x money, with an IRR of 73%. (DC Advisory, Deloitte, PwC, Rothschild, Addleshaw Goddard)

-Secondary buyout of Wealth at Work by Equistone for £50m. Exit by Palatine Private Equity, giving a 3.5 x return. (Deloitte, KPMG, DWF)

-IPO of On the Beach, which raised £96m and gave it an initial market capitalisation of £240m. Inflexion raised £83.8m and retained a 37.1% stake.(PwC)

International Deal of the Year:

Advisers who have worked on a high value strategically important transaction involving a non UK based purchaser or vendor.

-Pentair’s acquisition of US firm ERICO International Company for £1.2bn. (Eversheds)

-Dechra Pharmaceuticals’ acquisition of US firm Putney Inc, a developer of pharmaceutical  products for pets for £140.6m. (Investec)

-The purchase of architect firm BDP Holdings by Japan’s Nippon Koei Co Ltd for £102.2m. (KPMG, Squire Patton Boggs)

-NCC Group’s acquisition of Dutch cyber security firm Fox-IT Holding BV for £93.8m. (Rickitt Mitchell, Peel Hunt, Eversheds)

M&A Deal of the Year:

This award is for the most strategically important regional transaction. This transaction will be recognised for both scale and the transformational nature of its impact.

-Acquisition of Bifold by Rotork Plc for £125m, providing an exit for LDC. (Altium, Addleshaw Goddard)

-Pet food maker MPM Products Ltd sells a majority stake to ECI Partners for £50m. (KPMG, PwC, Addleshaw Goddard, Gordons, Squire Patton Boggs)

-Euro Garages’ investment deal of £1.3bn with TDR Capital for a minority stake. (Rothschild, Eversheds)

-MBO led by RooGreen Ventures of Total Fitness Ltd. NorthEdge Capital supported the transaction with £11.5m, taking an undisclosed majority stake. (Deloitte, KPMG, Mazars, DLA Piper, DWF, Gunnercooke)

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Small-Cap deal of the Year (up to £15m):

This award is for the most strategically important regional transaction worth up to £10m. This award recognises outstanding technical skill and pragmatism.

-Drug developer Redx Pharma Plc’s share placing on AIM to raise £10m. (Acceleris Capital, DWF)

-IPO of drug developer Evgen Pharma Plc, which raised £7m and gave the company an initial market capitalisation of £27m. (Enterprise Ventures)

-Secondary buy-out led by NVM Private Equity of Love Energy Savings.com Ltd for £4.5m, giving an exit for the Greater Manchester Loan Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners.  (Baker Tilly, Signia Corporate Finance, JMW, Shoosmiths, TLT)

-Endless’ acquisition of cake manufacturer Bright Blue Foods Ltd for £5m. (EY, Deloitte, Addleshaw Goddard, DWF, Mills & Reeve, Pinsent Masons, Squire Patton Boggs)

Rising Star:

The lawyer, corporate financier or banker, under the age of 35, who has achieved great things in the sector over the past year.

-Dominic Orsini – Altium
-Tom Wildig – Palatine Private Equity
-Phil Frame – NorthEdge
-Andrew Green – Addleshaw Goddard
-Kieran Lawton – Palatine Private Equity

Rainmaker of the Year:

The outstanding professional in North West corporate finance who has consistently been at the heart of the significant transactions over the past 12 months.

-Gary Tipper – Palatine Private Equity
-Nick Cowles – Zeus Capital
-Richard Hughes – Zeus Capital

Voting will open shortly. Many firms are already on the voting panel, but if you would like to be included, please email joanne.birtwistle@thebusinessdesk.com 
To book tickets and for more information visit our website at therainmakerawards .

For sponsorship inquiries please call Sarah Horsley or Seb Hussey on 0161 238 4922 or email sarah.horsley@thebusinessdesk.com or seb.hussey@thebusinessdesk.com.

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