Yorkshire Rainmakers Awards 2025 shortlist revealed
The shortlist has been revealed for the 2025 Yorkshire Rainmakers Awards.
Around 40 judges from the region’s corporate finance community met in Leeds this week to review the deals from the last 12 months, and to select the teams and individuals who have had the biggest impact.
The winners will be announced on Thursday, June 5, at New Dock Hall in Leeds. For more information and to book your tickets, visit the Rainmaker Awards website.
The awards are sponsored by Tinkle
TheBusinessDesk.com Yorkshire editor Sheryl Moore said: “I’d like to thank the judges who had a difficult task in selecting the best teams, individuals and deals of the year from many outstanding entries.
“We are looking forward to celebrating the very best of Yorkshire’s corporate finance community when the winners are revealed at the awards dinner next month.”
The 2025 Yorkshire Rainmakers Award Shortlist
TEAMS
Regional Legal Team
Brabners
Clarion
Gordons
Hill Dickinson
Schofield Sweeney
Walker Morris
Ward Hadaway
National Legal Team
Addleshaw Goddard
Eversheds Sutherland
Freeths
Pinsent Masons
Shoosmiths
Squire Patton Boggs
Womble Bond Dickinson
Regional Corporate Finance Advisory Team
Castle Square Corporate Finance
Cerelo Advisory
Dow Schofield Watts
Park Place Corporate Finance
Sentio
Translink
National Corporate Finance Advisory Team
Azets
Clearwater
Forvis Mazars
Grant Thornton
KPMG
Rothschild
RSM
VC/Private Equity Team
BGF
Endless
Foresight
LDC
Nimbus
YFM
Debt Funder Team
HSBC
Lloyds
OakNorth
Santander
ThinCats
Virgin Money
Asset-based Lending Team
Arbuthnot
Close Brothers
Hilco Valuation
Independent Growth Finance
Reward Finance
Secure Trust Bank
Shawbrook
Ultimate Finance
XL Business Finance
Transaction Services Team
Cortus Advisory
Dow Schofield Watts
EY
Grant Thornton
KPMG
PwC
RSM
Translink Corporate Advisory
Insurance Team
Aon
Gallagher
Howden Group
Markel
Marsh
Partners&
PIB Insurance Brokers
Tysers
Turnaround Team
Alvarez & Marsel
Begbies Traynor
Cortus Advisory
EY
FRP
Interpath
PwC
Teneo
Early-stage Investment Team
Finance Yorkshire
Lifted Ventures
Maven Capital Partners
Mercia
Northern Gritstone
Par Equity
Praetura
YFM
North Yorkshire Team
Crombie Wilkinson
Hunter Gee Holroyd
Lithgow Perkins
Parsons
Raworths
Ware & Kay
East Yorkshire Team
Andrew Jackson
Dutton Moore
Gosschalks Solicitors
Wilkin Chapman Rollits
Smailes Goldie
TC Group
South Yorkshire Team
Castle Square Corporate Finance
gbac
Hart Shaw
Hawsons
Hentons
Shorts
Virgin Money
INDIVIDUALS
Rising Star of the Year
Sophie Andran, KPMG
Josh Astill-Headley, Squire Patton Boggs
James Atkinson, RSM
James Baker, BGF
Rob Cunningham, Pinsent Masons
Tom Hopwood, Addleshaw Goddard
Andy Hyde, HSBC
Tom Kaye, Clearwater
Megan Thurman, Pinsent Masons
Changemaker of the Year
Jessica Armstrong, Lloyds Bank
Anna Ashford, ALT Legal
Ben Coggin, EY
Alex Fogal, EY
Hannah Kendrick, Squire Patton Boggs
Rebecca Rennison, EY
Jeremy Thomas, Clearwater
Rainmaker of the Year
Andy Barlow, Sentio
Richard Goldsack, Clearwater
Carly Gulliver, Addleshaw Goddard
Barry Jackson, BGF
Paul Mann, Squire Patton Boggs
Ben Peacock, Park Place
Andrew Ross, Endless LLP
Giles Taylor, KPMG
DEALS
BGF funding into Boxphish
Squire Patton Boggs, BGF, The Tax Advisory Partnership, Walker Morris, KPMG
My Pension Expert of Tenet&You from Tenet
Addleshaw Goddard, Park Place, Palatine, Cortus Advisory, Thistle Advisory
Newsome bought equipment manufacturer Penmann
Shoosmiths, Schofield Sweeney, Castle Square Corporate Finance, Brown Butler
MBAA acquisition of Riva Foods and Mother Riley’s Bakery
Thincats, Park Place, RSM, Irwin Mitchell, Cortus Advisory
BGF’s £5.5m investment in TaperedPlus
Comhar, Dow Schofield Watts, Freeths, Deloitte, BGF, Squire Patton Boggs, BDO
Pressure Technologies sold its Precision Machined Components division to Indian group Raghu Vamsi Machine Tool
Dow Schofield Watts, Addleshaw Goddard, BDO, Shoosmiths
Whitakers Chocolates was bought by LDC-backed Bramble Foods
Gordons, Fivefold Associates, Armstrong Watson, Gateley Legal, Virgin Money, LDC
Disposal of Bartoline by Paramount Retail Group to Tetrosyl
Hill Dickinson, CG Professional, Forvis Mazars
Medium Deal of the year (£10m-£50m)
NVM invested into Helix Tools owner MRO+ Solutions
Womble Bond Dickinson, NVM Private Equity, Browne Jacobson, Cairngorm Capital
BGF backed Hull-based Tevalis
Addleshaw Goddard, PwC, Squire Patton Boggs, BGF, BDO
Latus Health Group secured investment from NorthEdge Capital
Shoosmiths, Addleshaw Goddard, NorthEdge Capital, Pinsent Masons, Santander, Houlihan Lokey, BHP, BDO, PSMI
NorthEdge completed the sale of Cutwel to Inflexion
Womble Bond Dickinson, NorthEdge Capital, Sentio, Addleshaw Goddard, Inflexion, PwC, Virgin Money, Squire Patton Boggs
Nimbus acquired manufacturer National Floorcoverings Group
Shoosmiths, Travers Smith, Geldards, Gateley, Together Commercial Finance, Nimbus, TLT, Arbuthnot, Squire Patton Boggs
Online florist Prestige Flowers merged with Flowerline
Squire Patton Boggs, Park Place, ThinCats, Clarion, Blacks Solicitors, Cortus Advisory
Three Hills invested in Operam Education Group, with BGF exiting
Dow Schofield Watts, Squire Patton Boggs, Grant Thornton, Tax Advisory Partnership, BGF, KPMG, Addleshaw Goddard, Three Hills, DLA Piper, RSM, Clearwater, HSBC
Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)
Sale of majority shareholding in SmartSearch to Triple Private Equity
Squire Patton Boggs, Rothschild & Co, KPMG; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Deloitte, Triple Private Equity
Investment into A-Safe by IK Partners
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK), IK Partners, HSBC, Freeths, KPMG
Acquisition of Evri by Apollo Global Management, providing an exit for Advent International
HSBC, Rothschild & Co, EY, PwC
US-based Automated Industrial Robotics bought Sewtec Automation from Endless
Endless, Rothschild & Co, Squire Patton Boggs, KPMG, EY
MBO of Huddersfield-based e-commerce retailer Interior Goods Direct and Green & Brown
Sentio, EY, Forvis Mazars, Addleshaw Goddard, Walker Morris, Santander
Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquired Adler & Allan, providing an exit for Sun Capital
Park Place; Weil, Gotshal and Manges; Houlihan Lokey, Sun Capital, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, KPMG
BJSS was bought by CGI Group Holdings Europe
Addleshaw Goddard, KPMG
Sale of Doncaster-based Senior Architectural Systems to ASSA ABLOY
Clearwater, Shakespeare Martineau, KPMG, Eversheds Sutherland, Grant Thornton
Exponent Private Equity invested into Hippo Digital, with Growth Capital Partners exiting
Park Place, KPMG, Squire Patton Boggs, Exponent, Grant Thornton
