For his efforts in closing 25 acquisitions during 2012, Towergate Insurance CEO Mark Hodges picked up Dealmaker of the Year at the M&A Awards 2013, hosted at the Millennium Mayfair London Hotel.
Over 300 dealmakers converged to celebrate the achievements of those in the mid-market space, during a ceremony hosted by Sky News presenter Charlotte Hawkins.
Also lauded at the awards was Rupert Rawcliffe, director at professional services firm Grant Thornton, who scooped M&A Personality of the Year for his problem-solving ability and the enthusiasm and precision he brings to each deal.
The event, hosted by Vitesse Media Events in partnership with GrowthBusiness, saw the best of the UK mid-market M&A world celebrated – despite both domestic and outbound deals recently falling to its lowest level since 1995.
Those picking up gongs for particular deals were Clinigen for IPO of the Year, Monitise for Cross-Border Deal of the Year and Encore Capital for its sale of Probikekit to The Hut Group – voted UK Deal of the Year.
Pharmaceuticals business Clinigen, which floated on AIM, raised £50 million and was picked by the judges, who included Better Capital’s Jon Moulton and R Capital’s Jamie Constable, for its share price performance since the listing.
More on the M&A Awards:
Monitise was recognised for its acquisition of Clairmail, which involved the purchase of a US-based business by the mobile banking company. The disposal of Probikekit to The Hut Group was selected due to its good return on investment in just over a year, and the ability for Probikekit’s management to exit.
The awards, which are in their sixth year, were preceded by Tech Invest – an investor event which saw 25 companies in the mobile, digital and cleantech spaces pitch to a room of investors and corporate finance professionals.
Also picking up an award on the evening was Private Equity House of the Year winner LDC, noted by the judges to have remained ‘consistently strong’ in the face of difficult market conditions.
Accountancy Firm of the Year and Law Firm of the Year were dished out to Reeves and Shoosmiths respectively, while on the finance side, Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance scooped Finance Provider of the Year and Alternative Finance Provider of the Year went to Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance.
The final recognition on the evening saw Spayne Lindsay pick up the gong for Corporate Finance Boutique of the Year.
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Sponsors on the night included: Bureau van Dijk, GP Bullhound, Hitachi Capital, IQE, Leumi ABL, Marriot Harrison, Spayne Lindsay, Walbrook PR, What Investment and White Water Group.
