Tributes paid to Yorkshire dealmaker

TRIBUTES have been paid to one of the most popular and dynamic figures in the Yorkshire corporate finance community who has died in a snowboarding accident in the French Alps.

Phillip Tate, 32, a founding member and investment director at Leeds-based investment fund Endless, died instantly after falling 80 feet down a crevasse near Chamonix on Sunday morning.

He was snowboarding with his partner Kristine Grimshaw and a friend as well as a professional ski guide on the famous Vallee Blanche off-piste route when the accident happened.

Colleagues and friends of Mr Tate have paid tribute to a man “who grasped life with both hands and lived it to the full”.

Garry Wilson, managing partner of Endless, said: “Phil had a unique combination of qualities and gifts that made him stand out both in the business world and in his personal life. His talent and ability, his integrity and tenacity were always evident and remarked upon by many.

“Phil had a true entrepreneur's spirit which always made a mark wherever he worked and his business experience, which included projects and secondments across Europe, the US, the Far East and Australia, far outweighed his age at just 32. He was a huge ambassador for both the city of Leeds and for Yorkshire, in which he had a deep pride.

“His colleagues will always remember a big-hearted young man who grasped life with both hands and lived it to the full. Phil made lasting friends wherever he worked in the world and will be sorely missed both here in Yorkshire and in Australia. He had not only a terrific sense of humour but also genuine charm, warmth and a passion for life that was infectious. This is a tragic loss on so many levels.”

Mr Tate was born in Bramhope, Leeds, where his parents still live, and attended Leeds Grammar School.

He met his partner Ms Grimshaw, who works for an accountancy firm in Leeds, while he was on secondment in Australia.

The couple have a home in Roundhay, Leeds.

As an investment director at Endless, Mr Tate led a number of high profile and complex transactions including the management buyout of H&L Garages in September 2006 and the subsequent highly successful sale of the business to the incumbent management team a year later.

He was also immensely proud of the successful turnaround of Endless' first investment, Speedframe PVCu Windows, in which he was instrumental.

Malcolm Smith, managing director of Speedframe, commented: “To lose someone so talented so young is a tragedy. Phil has been an enormous contributor to all of the success that has been achieved here at Speedframe over the past few years and we will miss him terribly. On a personal note, I am devastated to have lost a good friend.”

Prior to joining Endless in January 2006, Mr Tate was a highly-rated senior manager at Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen, providing restructuring advice to a variety of companies, banks and other financial institutions.

He qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) in 1999 and attended Durham University where he studied Natural Sciences. He attended Leeds Grammar School and Moorlands School.

Darren Forshaw, partner at Endless, said: “Phil was a founding member and Investment Director of the team here at Endless, but more importantly than that he was a great friend to us all over many years. Things will not be the same without him and he will be greatly missed. Phil was also a hugely popular member of the wider Yorkshire professional community and will be known to many people. Like most who knew Phil, we are still coming to terms with this news and our thoughts are, of course, with his family and friends at this time.

“We have been inundated with messages of support, for which we are truly grateful, and will be passing these on to Phil's family. We would encourage everyone who knew Phil to continue to send these messages as they are a great source of comfort to Phil's family and his partner Kristine.

“We are also aware that there are a lot of people who wish to pay their respects to Phil's memory. We are liaising with Phil's family and will provide details of the arrangements in due course.”

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