Rainmaker Awards

Teams

Regional Legal TeamNational Legal TeamRegional Corporate Finance Advisory TeamNational Corporate Finance Advisory TeamVC/Private Equity TeamDebt FunderAsset-based Lending TeamDue DiligenceTax Advisory

Deals

Private Equity Exit of the YearInternational Deal of the YearSmall Deal of the Year (up to £10m)Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

Individual

Rising Star of the YearChangemaker of the YearRainmaker of the Year

Teams

Legal

Addleshaw Goddard

Corporate Finance

Sentio Partners

VC/Private Equity

LDC

Funder

HSBC

Transaction Services

Grant Thornton

Deals

Small Cap (up to £15m)

YorkTest Laboratories secured a £10m investment from NVM Private Equity
Squire Patton Boggs, Walker Morris, Ward Hadaway, Mazars, PwC, NVM Private Equity

Private Equity Exit

Phoenix Equity Partners exited Nexus Vehicle Rental after its sale to Equistone
Addleshaw Goddard, Squire Patten Boggs, Rothschild & Co, PwC, Park Place

M&A

Hippo Digital acquired data consultancy The Data Shed
Grant Thornton, Squire Patton Boggs, Armstrong, KPMG, DWF, Vista Insurance, NatWest, Addleshaw Goddard

International

Irish utilities group Beauparc Utilities acquired Acumen Waste Services
Burges Salmon, Clarion Solicitors, BDO, Park Place Corporate Finance

Public Markets

Marshalls acquired Marley in a £535m deal, part-funded by a £187m placing and open offer
Pinsent Masons, Slaughter & May, Grant Thornton, Numis Securities, Rothschild & co

Private Company

Arc Inspirations received a £19m investment, from BGF to support the accelerated rollout of its Banyan Bar & Kitchen, BOX and Manahatta brands
Gordons, Squire Patton Boggs, KPMG, BGF

Individual

Rising Star

Hannah Kirkup - Key Capital Partners

Changemaker

Nicola McQuaid - NorthEdge

Rainmaker

Jonathan Simms - Clarion

Teams

Legal

Addleshaw Goddard

Corporate Finance

Clearwater International

VC/Private Equity

Palatine Private Equity

Funder

TDC

Transaction Services

Cortus Advisory

Deals

Small Cap (up to £15m)

Maven Capital Partners acquired ProofID for £15m
Clearwater International, Maven Capital Partners

Private Equity Exit

WestBridge took a majority stake in Alpine Fire Engineers, investing £18.7m, while Soho Square Capital exited.
Addleshaw Goddard, Pinsent Masons, BDO, Blick Rothenberg, Clearwater International. Grant Thornton, Jamieson Corporate Finance, Soso Square Capital, WestBridge, Shawbrook

M&A

RSK made seven acquisitions of consultancy businesses around the UK in six weeks
Dow Schofield Watts, Cortus Advisory, DWF

International

Fishawack acquired American healthcare advisers Avalere Health
Clearsight Advisors

Public Markets

Sun European Partners bought K3 Capital Group for £270m
Houlihan Lokey, Numis Securities Ltd, Addleshaw Goddard

Private Company

The Modern Milkman raised £50m in its Series C funding round
Willkie Farr & Gallagher, ETF Partners, Insight Partners, Praetura Ventures

Individual

Rising Star

Jacob Leone - LDC

Changemaker

Nicola Merritt - Cortus Advisory

Rainmaker

Andrew Feeke - MHA Moore & Smalley

Teams

Legal
Sponsored by Rhino Interiors

Shoosmiths

Corporate Finance

Clearwater International

VC/Private Equity
Sponsored by Kuboid

NorthEdge

Funder

HSBC

Transaction Services

RSM

Deals

Small Cap (up to £15m)

Premier Paper Group bought Wine Box Company
Gateley, Harrison Clark Rickerbys, BDO, Orbis Partners

Private Equity Exit

Palatine achieved a 5.8x return on its investment in CTS Group, through a sale to Oakley Capital
Palatine, Clearwater, Gateley, Browne Jacobson, Deloitte

M&A

Telecoms firm Wavenet, acquired OGL Computer Support Holdings and its two subsidiaries OGL Computer Support and CyberGuard Technologies
DWF, Squire Patton Boggs, Orbis Partners

International

Birmingham marketing tech firm Inspired Thinking Group (Team ITG) acquired New Zealand-based Brand Machine

Public Markets

Mercia Asset Management acquired Frontier Development Capital, for £7m and with a further £4m dependent on performance
Canaccord Genuity, Mercia Asset Management

Private Company

Friend MTS was backed by private equity firm NorthEdge
Alantra, Fredrikson & Byron PA, Freeths, Gateley, Squire Patton Boggs, Walkers, Appleby, BDO LLP, Friend LLP, KPMG, Keystone Partners, Mazars

Individual

Rising Star

Matthew Guest, Springboard Corporate Finance

Changemaker

Beth Mather, Gateley

Rainmaker
Sponsored by Michael Page

Sarah Taylor, Clearwater International

Teams

Legal

Addleshaw Goddard

Corporate Finance

Houlihan Lokey

VC/Private Equity

Foresight Group

Funder

Tosca Debt Capital

Deals

Deal under £15m

Apprentify acquired Netcom Training, backed by £5m investment from BGF

Private Equity Exit

DA Languages was bought by IK Partners, with Foresight exiting

Private Company

Matillion raised $150m in a funding round led by General Atlantic

Public Markets

Victorian Plumbing floated on AIM, raising nearly £300m

M&A

Inflexion bought ANS, to combine with existing investment UKFast

International

Blue Prism was acquired by US fintech giant SS&C for £1.24bn

Individual

Rising Star (under 35)

Peter Barkley - WestBridge

Changemaker

Beth Houghton - Palatine Private Equity

Rainmaker

Dominic Orsini - Houlihan Lokey

Teams

Legal

Clarion

Corporate Finance

Clearwater International

VC/Private Equity

BGF

Funder

HSBC

Deals

Small Cap (under £20m)

Sheffield Forgemasters was acquired by the Ministry of Defence

Private Equity Exit

The sale of Estio Training to BPP Education Group was the first exit from Palatine’s Impact Fund

M&A

Succession and growth finance raising for Carnaby Caravans

Rising Stars

Legal

Mae Salem, Squire Patton Boggs

Corporate Finance

Duncan Morpeth, Grant Thornton

Investment

Paul Denvers, Enact

Funder

Rebecca Rennison, EY

Individual

Changemaker

Rob Atkinson, Virgin Money

Rainmaker

Stephen Griffiths, Rothschild & Co

Teams

Regional Legal Team

Brabners
Browne Jacobson
Hill Dickinson
JMW Solicitors
Napthens Solicitors
Pannone Corporate

National Legal Team

Addleshaw Goddard
DLA Piper
DWF
Eversheds Sutherland
Pinsent Masons
Squire Patton Boggs

Regional Corporate Finance Advisory Team

Cortus Advisory
Cowgills
Dow Schofield Watts
Hurst Corporate Finance
MHA
Rickitt Mitchell

National Corporate Finance Advisory Team

Clearwater International
DC Advisory
EY
Grant Thornton
Houlihan Lokey
KPMG
PwC

VC/Private Equity Team

BGF
Foresight Group
LDC
Palatine Private Equity
Praetura Ventures
WestBridge

Debt Funder Team

HSBC
OakNorth Bank
Shawbrook
ThinCats
TDC
Virgin Money

Asset-based Lending Team

Arbuthnot Latham
Close Brothers Group
Cynergy Business Finance
Praetura Commercial Finance Group
Secure Trust Bank
Shawbrook

Due Diligence Team

BDO
Cortus Advisory
Deloitte
Dow Schofield Watts
KPMG
Saffery

Tax Advisory

Alexander & Co
BDO
Claritas Tax
KPMG
PwC
RSM UK

Deals

Private Equity Exit of the Year

Anthesis acquired by Carlyle, with Palatine reinvesting
Eversheds Sutherland, Lazard, DeloitteMSQ sold by LDC to One Equity Partners
Squire Patton Boggs, Houlihan Lokey, LDC, One Equity PartnersONFAB sold by Foresight and sold to Savillex
Squire Patton Boggs, Dow Schofield Watts, EC Mergers & Acquisitions, Foresight Group, SavillexAbbey Logistics acquired by Sitra Group from exiting investors NorthEdge Capital
DWF, KPMG, NorthEdgeBright Futures Care sold by Livingbridge and management to Charme Capital Partners
Pinsent Masons, Macfarlanes, Clearwater International Findel Education sold by Endless to Manutan International
Walker Morris, Clearwater International, Endless, Claritas Tax

International Deal of the Year

Bluestones Investment Group acquired Australasian Recruitment
Irwin Mitchell, Muckle, Tompkins Wake, Ryecroft Glenton, Translink Corporate FinanceProofID acquisition of identity governance and administration integrator Regatta Solutions Group
Squire Patton Boggs, Brunel & DunnTrawlers, the acquisition vehicle of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Chairman of INEOS Group, acquired 25% of Manchester United
Latham & Watkins, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Slaughter and May, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Cazenove, Raine Group LLC, Rothschild & Co - Red Football LLCInstem takeover by ARCHIMED SAS
Squire Patton Boggs, Latham & Watkins, Archimed SAS, Moelis & Company UK, NM Rothschild & Son, Singer Capital Markets Advisory, Stifel Nicolaus EuropeAcquisition of Lookers by Global Auto Holdings
Eversheds Sutherland, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Simpson Thatcher, Numis, Peel Hunt, JeffriesLBG Media acquisition of Betches Media, a US based media brand
Squire Patton Boggs, Zeus CapitalMSS Products and Bryden Capital acquired by Stellex Capital Management
Collas Crill, Hill Dickinson, King & Spalding, Ogier, Deloitte, HSBC, Jamieson Corporate Finance, KPMG

Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)

Beth Tweddle Gymnastics sold to Gymfinity Kids
Hill Dickinson, Cowgills, CMSFive Wealth receives development funding from Foresight Group
RSM, Foresight GroupContollo Group acquired Abacus Cost Management backed by NorthEdge
BBS Law, Abacus Cost Management, DWF, Hill Dickinson, Alvarez & Marsal, Cortus Advisory, Langtons Corporate Finance, Mazars, Royce Peeling Green, NorthEdge, Claritas TaxThe Bury Black Pudding Company acquired by Panicium
Frontier Development Capital, Shawbrook, Squire Patton Boggs, gunnercooke, DTE Corporate Finance, Hurst Corporate Finance, Bexley Beaumont, GateleyAPEM Group acquisition of Nash Maritime backed by WestBridge Capital
Capital Law, Wallace, Dow Schofield Watts, WestBridgeManagement buyout of Resulting IT backed by YFM
Brabners, Hill Dickinson, Alexander & Co, BDO, Blacksquare Advisory, Cortus Advisory, RSM, YFM Equity Partners

Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)

LDC investment into Uinsure
DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Deloitte, GP Bullhound, KPMG, HSBC, Santander UK, LDC, JMW SolicitorsTDC supported LDC in its acquisition of a minority stake in Glasgow based, Kick ICT Group
DLA Piper, TDCPalatine Private Equity Impact Fund invests in Roydon Recycling
RSM, Gateley, Squire Patton Boggs, PwC, RSM, Virgin Money, Sedulo, Palatine Private Equity, Addleshaw GoddardBGF invests in Purple Wifi
DLA Piper, Hill Dickinson, GP Bullhound, Hurst Corporate Finance, PwC, Business Growth FundWaterland Invests in Cumbria Waste Group
Dow Schofield Watts, Waterland Private Equity Investments, Pinsent Masons, Hill Dickinson, DWFSales of Depotnet to Everfield, an Aquiline Capital Partners backed software acquirer
CG Professionals, MHA Moore & Smalley, Aquiline Capital Partners

Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

Acquisition of Lookers plc by Global Auto Holdings
Eversheds Sutherland, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Simpson Thatcher, Numis, Peel Hunt, JeffriesCastore secured £150m funding from backers Raine Partners, Hanaco Ventures, Felix Capital and MNL Nominees
Addleshaw Goddard, Felix Capital Partners, Hanaco Venture Capital, MNL Nominees, Raine PartnersApadmi secures investment from CBPE
Weightmans, CBPE, Addleshaw Goddard, Deloitte, PwC, Clearwater International, AlantraMSQ sold by LDC to One Equity Partners
Squire Patton Boggs, Houlihan Lokey, LDC, One Equity PartnersAnthesis acquired by Carlyle, with Palatine reinvesting
Eversheds Sutherland, Lazard, Deloitte

Individual

Rising Star of the Year

Ryan Brown, Browne Jacobson
Tom Chappell, TDC
Grant Goodwin, LDC
Greg Holmes, Palatine
James Kennedy, Cowgills
Katie Parker, Addleshaw Goddard
Rachael Taplin, Palatine

Changemaker of the Year

Beth Houghton, Palatine
Catriona Lang, Dow Schofield Watts
Nicola Merritt, Cortus Advisory
Lucie Mills, NorthEdge
Rebecca Rennison, EY
Lizzy Tindall, Eversheds Sutherland

Rainmaker of the Year

Claire Alvarez, Foresight Group
Giles Chesher, Squire Patton Boggs
Sam Davies, Cowgills
Gary Davison, TDC
Andrew Feeke, MHA
Michael Loudon, Clearwater International
Nicola Merritt, Cortus Advisory

Summer 2024 will mark the return of the Rainmaker Awards.The Rainmaker Awards will bring together the West Midlands deals community to celebrate the best deals and teams from the past 12 months, as voted for by the corporate finance community themselves in a one firm, one vote system.The casual dress code, swaps the traditional tuxedos and long speeches for an evening that focuses on recognising and celebrating the best work from the year.The night will provide an opportunity to network with the leading individuals and firms in the region.

Sponsors

Data Partner

Charity Partner

Teams

Regional Legal Team

HCR Law
Higgs
Lodders
Mills & Reeve
The Wilkes Partnership
Wright Hassall

National Legal Team

Browne Jacobson
Eversheds Sutherland
Freeths
Gateley Legal
Shoosmiths
Squire Patton Boggs

Regional Corporate Finance Advisory Team

Clairfield
Cooper Parry
Evolve Corporate Finance
Heligan Group
Provantage
Springboard Corporate Finance

National Corporate Finance Advisory Team

Alantra
Clearwater International
EY
KPMG
PwC
RSM

VC/Private Equity Team

Beech Tree PE
BGF
LDC
NorthEdge Capital
Palatine Private Equity
YFM

Debt Funder Team

FDC
HSBC
Santander
Shawbrook
Thincats
Virgin Money

Asset-based Lending Team

Close Brothers Group
HSBC
Leumi UK
PNC
Shawbrook

Due Diligence Team

BDO
Cortus Advisory
Grant Thornton
KPMG
PwC
RSM

Tax Advisory

Claritas Tax
EY
Grant Thornton
PKF Smith Cooper
PwC
RSM

Deals

Private Equity Exit of the Year

YFM-backed an MBO of Antser Group, with BGF completing its exit
Mills & Reeve, Freeths, Gateley, Shoosmiths, Roythornes, Claritas, Heligan, PwC, Cooper Parry Corporate Finance, Springboard Corporate Finance, EY, Crowe, YFM Private EquityPortakabin acquired Darwin Group, with Kartesia exiting
Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, KartesiaGlory Global Solutions acquired Flooid from exiting investor Inflexion Private Equity
BDO, Clearwater International, Inflexion Private EquityPalladian Investment Partners backed an MBO of Intelli-Park, with investor Solano Partners exiting
Pinsent Masons, Osborne Clarke, Cortus Advisory, Solano Partners, Palladian Investment Partners, Vecturis Equity, EY, KPMG, GK Strategy, CiLWestbridge backed the secondary MBO of Land Survey Solutions, providing an exit for RJD Partners
Squire Patton Boggs, Mishcon de Reya, Pinsent Masons, Clearwater International, Cooper Parry, LAVA Advisory Partners, RJD Partners, WestbridgeAxiom Equity-backed Tracer Management Systems acquired Protean Software from exiting investor Foresight
Fieldfisher, Shoosmiths, James Cowper Kreston, CIBC, Foresight

International Deal of the Year

Amco was bought by South African company Super Group for £30m
Harrison Clark Rickerbys, Higgs, Evolve Corporate Finance, BDOKnighthead Capital Management took a 46% stake in Birmingham City
Squire Patton Boggs, Deloitte, Knighthead Capital ManagementTarmac owner CRH sold its European lime operations to SigmaRoc
Eversheds Sutherland, Hengeler Mueller, White & Case, Fieldfisher, JP MorganFranchise Brands acquired Pirtek Europe, for £200m
Gateley Legal, GÖRG, PNC Capital FinanceHill & Smith acquired United Fiberglas of America for $14m
Grant ThorntonEndless-backed KTC Edibles acquired Dublin-based Trilby Trading
Arthur Cox, Eversheds Sutherland, KPMG, Endless

Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)

Limerston Capital-backed Forensic Access Group acquired Forensic Testing Service
Clearwater International, Limerston Capital, Gordons, GateleyForward Glass was acquired by Cornwall Group
Higgs, Springboard Corporate Finance, ClaritasKarndean International bought Dutch business mFLOR International
Mills & Reeve, RSM, Van Benthem & Keulen, Gerald EdelmanSale of Stalis to FPE Capital-backed Egress Group
Higgs, Stephenson Harwood, The Wilkes Partnership, Headpoint, Cortus Advisory, FPE Capital, ClaritasWHS Plastics acquired Xandor Plastics UK
Freeths, Burness Paull, Cooper Parry

Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)

YFM-backed management buyout of Antser Group, as BGF exited
Mills & Reeve, Freeths, Gateley, Shoosmiths, Roythornes, Claritas, Heligan, PwC, Cooper Parry, EY, Crowe, YFM Private Equity, BGFPalatine took a significant minority shareholding in the accountancy firm BK Plus
Eversheds Sutherland, Gateley, Irwin Mitchell, Cortus, RSM, Clearwater International, Palatine, ShawbrookBGF and Natwest invested £21.5m to acquire a minority stake in Metpro
Evolve Corporate Finance, Ansons, Browne Jacobson, Shoosmiths, Cortus Advisory, BGF, Natwest, ClaritasSCC acquired a majority stake in Nimble
Eversheds Sutherland, Squire Patton Boggs, Alantra, Grant ThorntonLDC invested into live events specialist Star Live
Freeths, The Wilkes Partnership, Browne Jacobson, Higgs, KPMG, Clearwater International, Regent Assay, LDC, Claritas, FairgroveTeacherActive secured a minority investment from Pricoa Private Capital
Clearwater, Gateley Legal, KPMG, RSM, Grant Thornton, Global Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Pricoa Private Capital

Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

Waterland-backed Cooper Parry acquired Haines Watts London
Clearwater International, Waterland, Squire Patton BoggsTarmac owner CRH sold its European lime operations to SigmaRoc
Eversheds Sutherland, Hengeler Mueller, White & Case, Fieldfisher, JP MorganHealthcare modular buildings specialist Darwin Group was bought by Portakabin
Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, Kartesia, StephensApiary Capital backed a management buyout at First Intuition
Clearwater International, EY, Osborne ClarkeFranchise Brands acquired Pirtek Europe, for £200m, supported by a £92m placing on AIM.
Gateley Legal, GÖRG, PNC Capital FinanceCar dealership Rybrook Group was acquired by Sytner Group
Eversheds Sutherland, Hazlewoods

Individual

Rising Star of the Year

Mo Abbas, Freeths
Charlotte Casserly, Deloitte
Tom Joy, PKF Smith Cooper
Emily Parkes, Higgs
Hayley Simmonds, Mills & Reeve
Kieran Virr, Clearwater International

Changemaker of the Year

Ayesha Ali, LDC
Satvir Bungar, BDO
Kelly Henney, PNC
Deepak Parekh, Shawbrook Bank
Janai Parker, Gateley
Rick Smyth, The Wilkes Partnership

Rainmaker of the Year

Helen Brocklebank, RSM
Rob Burden, Clearwater International
Joe Dyke, Clearwater International
Paul Franks, Beech Tree Private Equity
Sarah Taylor, Clearwater International
Richard Thomas, Palatine

Teams

Regional Legal TeamNational Legal TeamRegional Corporate Finance Advisory TeamNational Corporate Finance Advisory TeamVC/Private Equity TeamDebt FunderAsset-based Lending TeamDue DiligenceTax Advisory

Deals

Private Equity Exit of the YearInternational Deal of the YearSmall Deal of the Year (up to £10m)Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

Individual

Rising Star of the YearChangemaker of the YearRainmaker of the Year