June 5New Dock Hall, Leeds

Summer 2025 will mark the return of the Rainmaker Awards.The Rainmaker Awards will bring together Yorkshire’s 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 provides an opportunity to network with the leading individuals and firms in the region.

GRAB YOUR TICKETS

Single Ticket | £250 + VAT
Table of Ten | £2000 + VAT
Premium Partner | £2500 + VAT

2025 SHORTLIST

Teams


Regional Legal Team

Brabners
Clarion
Gordons
Hill Dickinson
Schofield Sweneey
Walker Morris
Ward Hadaway


National Legal Team

Addleshaw Goddard
Eversheds Sutherland
Freeths
Pinsent Masons
Shoosmiths
Squire Patton Boggs
Womble Bond Dickinson


Regional CF Team

Cerelo Advisory
Dow Schofield Watts
Park Place Corporate Finance
Sentio
Translink
Castle Square Corporate Finance


National CF Team

Azets
Clearwater
Forvis Mazars
Grant Thornton
KPMG
Rothschild
RSM


VC/PE 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

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
Wake Smith

Deals


Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)

Boxphish secured £3.25m from BGF

Squire Patton Boggs, BGF, The Tax Advisory Partnership, Walker Morris, KPMG

My Pension Expert acquired 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 acquired 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

Lactus 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

NorthEdge Capital, Inflexion, Womble Bond Dickinson, Sentio, Addleshaw Goddard, 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

HSBC, Dow Schofield Watts, Squire Patton Boggs, Grant Thornton, Tax Advisory Partnership, BGF, KPMG, Addleshaw Goddard, Three Hills, DLA Piper, RSM, Clearwater, Pinsent Masons


Large Deal of the Year (£50m+)

Triple Private Equity took a majority stake in software provder SmartSearch

Squire Patton Boggs, Rothschild & Co, KPMG; Skadden, Arps, Slate; Meagher & Flom, Deloitte

Investment into Elland-based A-Safe by IK Partners

Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK), IK Partners, HSBC, KPMG, Freeths

Apollo Global Management acquired Evri, 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, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, HSBC

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

Individual


Rising Star

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

Jessica Armstrong, Lloyds Bank
Anna Ashford, ALT Legal
Ben Coggin, EY
Alexandra Fogal, EY
Hannah Kendrick, Squire Patton Boggs
Rebecca Rennison, EY
Jeremy Thomas, Clearwater


Rainmaker

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
Giles Taylor, KPMG

HEADLINE sponsor

CATEGORY sponsor


SUBSCRIBE

TheBusinessDesk has launched RAINMAKERS, a dedicated platform of insights, commentary and analysis of M&A and fundraising activity across the North.A serious upgrade to our regular daily news updates.

Contact us - events@thebusinessdesk.com

TheBusinessDesk.com

Alumni


2024 WINNERS - Yorkshire

Teams


Regional Legal Team

Clarion
Freeths
Gordons
Schofield Sweeney
Walker Morris
Ward Hadaway


National Legal Team

Addleshaw Goddard
DLA Piper
Eversheds Sutherland
Pinsent Masons
Shoosmiths
Squire Patton Boggs
Womble Bond Dickinson


Regional Corporate Finance Advisory Team

Azets
Castle Square
Dow Schofield Watts
Park Place Corporate Finance
Sentio Partners
Translink Corporate Finance


National Corporate Finance Advisory Team

Clearwater
EY
Grant Thornton
KPMG
PwC
Rothschild & Co


VC/Private Equity Team

BGF
Endless
Foresight Group
LDC
YFM Equity Partners


Debt Funder Team

HSBC
Santander
Shawbrook
TDC
ThinCats
Virgin Money


Asset-based Lending Team

Arbuthnot
BZ
Close Brothers
Shawbrook


Due Diligence Team

Cortus Advisory
Dow Schofield Watts
Grant Thornton
KPMG
PwC
RSM


Tax Advisory

Deloitte
EY
Grant Thornton
KPMG
RSM
Tax Advisory Partnership
Translink Corporate Finance

Deals


Private Equity Exit of the Year

LDC invested in The 55 Group, providing an exit for Maven Capital Partners
Addleshaw Goddard, Squire Patton Boggs, Gateley, DLA Piper, KPMG, Rothschild, DSW, PMSI, Better Faster Growth, Catalysis, Park Place, HSBC, Maven Capital Partners, LDC


International Deal of the Year

Assisi Pet Care Group acquired by Wind Point Partners providing a successful exit for Harwood Private Equity
Clarion, Shoosmiths, Reed Smith, Addleshaw Goddard, Reed Smith, Park Place, Tax Advisory Partnership, KPMG, Crescent Capital


Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)

Operam Education, backed by BGF, acquires Provision Recruitment
Squire Patton Boggs, Nelsons Solicitors, Pinsent Masons, Gordons, BGF, HSBC, Connect Corporate Finance


Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)

LDC Investment in Boston Energy
SPG, Addleshaw Goddard, KPMG, Clearwater, Grant Thornton, LDC


Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

LDC investment in Sheffield based student accommodation advertising platform, UniHomes.
Womble Bond Dickinson, Freeths, EY, Castle Square, Shoosmiths, HSBC

Individual


Rising Star of the Year

Megan Atack, Freeths
James Baker, BGF
Olivia Field, Ward Hadaway
Joshua Astill-Headley, Squire Patton Boggs
Thomas Hopwood, Addleshaw Goddard
Anthony West, LDC


Changemaker of the Year

Jessica Armstrong, Lloyds
Alexandra Fogal, EY
Carly Gulliver, Addleshaw Goddard
Linda Nguyenova, BGF
Rebecca Rennison, EY
Jeremy Thomas, Deloitte


Rainmaker of the Year

Chris Boyes, BGF
Richard Goldsack, Clearwater
Richard Hunt, Addleshaw Goddard
Paul Mann, Squire Patton Boggs
Amy Pierechod, Gordons
Dan Smith, LDC


2024 WINNERS - NORTH WEST

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
DC Advisory
EY
Grant Thornton
Houlihan Lokey
KPMG
PwC


VC/Private Equity Team

BGF
Foresight Group
LDC
Palatine
Praetura Ventures
WestBridge


Debt Funder Team

HSBC
OakNorth Bank
Shawbrook
ThinCats
TDC
Virgin Money


Asset-based Lending Team

Arbuthnot Latham
Close Brothers
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, Deloitte


International Deal of the Year

Trawlers, 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 LLC


Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)

Management buyout of Resulting IT backed by YFM
Brabners, Hill Dickinson, Alexander & Co, BDO, Blacksquare Advisory, Cortus Advisory, RSM, YFM Equity Partners, KPMG


Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)

Waterland Invests in Cumbria Waste Group
Dow Schofield Watts, Waterland Private Equity Investments, Pinsent Masons, Hill Dickinson, DWF


Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

Apadmi secures investment from CBPE
Weightmans, CBPE, Addleshaw Goddard, Deloitte, PwC, Clearwater, Alantra

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
Nicola Merritt, Cortus Advisory


2024 WINNERS - WEST MIDLANDS

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
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 Equity


International Deal of the Year

Knighthead Capital Management took a 46% stake in Birmingham City
Squire Patton Boggs, Deloitte, Knighthead Capital Management


Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)

Forward Glass was acquired by Cornwall Group
Higgs, Springboard Corporate Finance, Claritas


Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)

Palatine took a significant minority shareholding in the accountancy firm BK Plus
Eversheds Sutherland, Gateley, Irwin Mitchell, Cortus, RSM, Clearwater, Palatine, Shawbrook


Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

Waterland-backed Cooper Parry acquired Haines Watts London
Clearwater, Waterland, Squire Patton Boggs

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


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
Joe Dyke, Clearwater
Paul Franks, Beech Tree Private Equity
Sarah Taylor, Clearwater
Richard Thomas, Palatine


2023 WINNERS - Yorkshire

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


2023 WINNERS - North West

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


2023 WINNERS - West MIDLANDS

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


2022 Winners - North West

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


2022 Winners - Yorkshire

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

Contact us - events@thebusinessdesk.com

TheBusinessDesk.com

YORKSHIRE RAINMAKER SUMMER PARTY 2022

Contact us - events@thebusinessdesk.com

TheBusinessDesk.com

JuNE 19Hilton, Manchester

Summer 2025 will mark the return of the Rainmaker Awards.The Rainmaker Awards will bring together the North West's 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 provides an opportunity to network with the leading individuals and firms in the region.

GRAB YOUR TICKETS

Single Ticket | £250 + VAT
Table of Ten | £2000 + VAT
Premium Partner | £2500 + VAT

2025 CATEGORIES

This year we're opening up our entry system, don't worry though we're still keeping the same community one vote per firm voting system.

Please email your completed entry to: events@thebusinessdesk.com
The extended deadline for entries is Friday 4 April 2025

Teams


Regional Legal Team
National Legal Team
Regional CF Team
National CF Team
VC/PE Team
Debt Funder Team
Asset Based Lending Team
Transaction Services
Insurance Team
Turnaround Team
Early-stage Investment Team
Liverpool City Region Team
Cheshire Team
Lancashire Team

Deals


Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)
Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)
Large Deal of the Year (£50m+)

Individual


Rising Star
Changemaker
Rainmaker

headline sponsor

Category sponsors


SUBSCRIBE

TheBusinessDesk has launched RAINMAKERS, a dedicated platform of insights, commentary and analysis of M&A and fundraising activity across the North.A serious upgrade to our regular daily news updates.

Contact us - events@thebusinessdesk.com

TheBusinessDesk.com

July 3MACDONALD BURLINGTON HOTEL, BIRMINGHAM

Summer 2025 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 provides an opportunity to network with the leading individuals and firms in the region.


GRAB YOUR TICKETS

Single Ticket | £250 + VAT
Table of Ten | £2000 + VAT
Premium Partner | £2500 + VAT

2025 CATEGORIES

This year we're opening up our entry system, don't worry though we're still keeping the same community one vote per firm voting system.

Please email your completed entry to: events@thebusinessdesk.com
The extended deadline for entries is Friday 4 April 2025

Teams


Regional Legal Team
National Legal Team
Regional CF Team
National CF Team
VC/PE Team
Debt Funder Team
Asset Based Lending Team
Transaction Services
Insurance Team
Turnaround Team
Early-stage Investment Team

Deals


Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)
Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)
Large Deal of the Year (£50m+)

Individual


Rising Star
Changemaker
Rainmaker

headline sponsor

Category sponsors


SUBSCRIBE

TheBusinessDesk has launched RAINMAKERS, a dedicated platform of insights, commentary and analysis of M&A and fundraising activity across the North.A serious upgrade to our regular daily news updates.

Contact us - events@thebusinessdesk.com

TheBusinessDesk.com

November 5crowne plaza, nottingham

TheBusinessDesk.com brought the Rainmaker Awards to the East Midlands for the first time due to the awards' success in the North West, Yorkshire and West Midlands.The Rainmaker Awards brings together the East 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.

2024 SHORTLIST & winners

Teams


Legal Team

Browne Jacobson
Flint Bishop
Freeths
Gateley
Howes Percival
Shakespeare Martineau


Corporate Finance Advisory Team

Bishopsgate Corporate Finance
Breeze Corporate Finance
Cooper Parry
DSW
Grant Thornton
Provantage Corporate Finance


VC/Private Equity Team

BGF
Foresight
Maven
Mercia
LDC
Palatine


Debt Funder Team

Beechbrook
HSBC
OakNorth
Shawbrook
ThinCats


Asset-based Lending Team

Close Brothers
IGF
Leumi UK
Shawbrook


Due Diligence Team

BDO
Cooper Parry
Cortus Advisory
PKF Smith Cooper
RSM


Tax Advisory Team

BDO
Claritas Tax
Cooper Parry
KPMG
PKF Smith Cooper
RSM

Deals


Private Equity Exit of the Year

YFM exit of DSP Group and sale to LDC
Browne Jacobson, Gateley Legal, BDO, Alantra, CMS, YFM, PwC, LDC


International Deal of the Year

Sale of Serif to Canva
Gateley, Provantage Corporate Finance


Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m)

Dains' acquisition of HSKSG
Dains, DSW, Deloitte, HSBC


Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)

LDC investment into Integrated Doorset Solutions
Browne Jacobson, RSM, Keystone Law, Claritas Tax, Magma, Cortus Advisory


Large Deal of the Year (over £50m)

Sale of Serif Group to Canva
Gateley, Provantage Corporate Finance

Individual


Rising Star of the Year

Amanda Betts - Provantage Corporate Finance
Matt Bolton - Browne Jacobson
Line Gauteplass - Foresight
Adam Huckerby - BGF
Hannah Tapsel - Mercia
Hannah Tessyman - Freeths


Changemaker of the Year

David Browne - Provantage Corporate Finance
Paul Kithoray - Cortus Advisory
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