Interactive voting at Investor AllStars 2012 saw fashion website notonthehighstreet.com founders Sophie Cornish and Holly Tucker scoop the Entrepreneur of the Year gong.
In recognition of the awards’ tenth anniversary, the Investor of the Decade prize was awarded to brothers Danny and Neil Rimer from Index Ventures.
The event was hosted at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel and saw the best of the venture capital and private equity community congregate with the leading lights of the entrepreneurial world.
The Venture Capital Fund of the Year award was given to Scottish Equity Partners which has, over the past year, raised £295 million to invest in early-stage companies.
Having collected the trophy, Julie Curran, head of deal origination at the firm, commented, ‘It’s been a great 12 months for us, we’ve raised SEP 4, closed the Environmental Energies Fund and made four investments from the fund so far. It’s a testament to all the hard work at SEP.’
Wol Kolade, managing partner at ISIS Equity Partners, was on hand to accept Growth/Buy-out Fund of the Year for his firm.
ISIS raised almost £400 million across its oversubscribed fund and the Baronsmead VCTs. It achieved seven exits in the past 12 months and closed six new deals.
Kolade said, ‘Last year was an extraordinary year in that we were very active in terms of new investment. We also achieved our best-ever exit in [cycling concern] Wiggle at the end of last year. Achieving such returns in the face of the worst economic crisis that this country has felt for decades feels really great.’
The efforts of investors, entrepreneurs and advisors were mirrored by the performance of the keynote speaker on the evening. Olympic gold medal winning rower Katherine Grainger delighted the crowd with her tale of triumphing at the Summer Games.
The judging panel, which included head of Good Energies George Coelho and Mark Sebba of fashion website Net-a-Porter.com, saw fit to award Cleantech Fund of the Year to Capricorn Cleantech Fund.
In an individual recognition, Investor of the Year went to Frederic Court from Advent Venture Partners who was praised for chalking up three substantial exits over the past 12 months.
A full list of winners on the night can be found below:
Venture Capital Fund of the Year:
Winner: Scottish Equity Partners
Growth/Buy-out Fund of the Year:
Winner: ISIS Equity Partners
Cleantech Fund of the Year:
Winner: Capricorn Cleantech Fund
Exit of the Year:
Winner: Algeta sale by Incitia Ventures
Investor of the Year:
Winner: Frederic Court of Advent Venture Partners
VCT of the Year:
Winner: Mobeus Equity Partners
Equity Gap Fund of the Year:
Winner: Fast Lane Ventures
Private Investor Network of the Year:
Winner: BEER & Partners
Service Provider of the Year:
Winner: Silicon Valley Bank
Entrepreneur of the Year:
Winner: Sophie Cornish and Holly Tucker from notonthehighstreet.com
Investor of the Decade:
Winner: Danny and Neil Rimer from Index Ventures
