The importance of private equity to the UK economy was recognised last night (22 April) at the 8th Private Equity Awards, which acknowledged the sector's achievements during 2008.
Presented by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and Real Deals, the awards are the ultimate accolade for the industry's dealmakers and advisors.
The judges were looking for overall exceptional performance in a challenging environment, including fundraising, deals and overall strategic growth.
The winners included:
- House of the year: venture and small buyouts - Bowmark Capital
- House of the year: mid-market and large buyouts - ECI Partners
- Secondaries house of the year - HarbourVest Partners
- Growth Capital & buyout deal of the year - Dunedin for Gardner
- Venture capital deal of the year - DFJ Esprit for Buy.at
- Transparency and disclosure Award - Cinven
- Debt provider of the year - Lloyds Acquisition Finance
According to the BVCA's preliminary Report on Investment Activity, investment by UK firms fell to £19.5bn in 2008 but was robust in comparison with the decade as a whole, almost equalling the total for 2004 and 2005 combined (£21.3bn) and exceeding that of 2001, 2002 and 2003 put together (£18bn).
Simon Walker, chief executive officer of the BVCA, said: "Private equity and venture capital will play a critical role in hauling the UK out of recession, from rescuing ailing businesses and saving jobs to investing in the growth companies of tomorrow.
"Successful investing goes hand-in-hand with disclosure and transparency and Cinven's award recognises the substantial progress, via the Walker Guidelines, achieved on this front over the past year.
"Our industry is a force for economic good and we should never be shy about recognising the best of what it can achieve."
Amy Carroll, editor of Real Deals, said: "Challenging market conditions have showed no sign of abating but private equity has still generated a series of successes, which include rescuing companies, creating jobs, developing technology and enriching pensions."
"Tonight's winners are a great endorsement of what the asset class has to offer a struggling economy and we congratulate them all on their contributions."
The judging panel included:
- Richard Wilson, Apax Partners
- Charlie Geffen, Ashurst
- Simon Havers, Baird Capital Partners
- Alexander Apponyi, Berchwood Partners
- Andrew Graham, BVCA
- Andrew Burrows, CMBOR, Nottingham University Business School
- Fenton Burgin, Deloitte
- Paul Hancock
- Eli Talmor, London Business School
- Michael Denny, NVM Private Equity
- Carol Kennedy, Pantheon Ventures
- Ashley Coups, PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Amy Carroll, Real Deals
The Awards ceremony was held at Grosvenor House, London and organised by Caspian Publishing.
Sponsors included ABFA, BIE Interim Executive, Equity FD and McGrigors.
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Caspian Publishing by Citypress.
Notes to Editors:
The full list of winners is as follows:
Independent Corporate Finance House of the Year
ICON Corporate Finance
Large Corporate Finance House of the Year
William Blair & Company
Generalist Professional Services Firm of the Year
Ernst & Young LLP
Specialist Professional Services Firm of the Year
Langham Hall
Legal Adviser of the Year
Macfarlanes LLP
Debt Provider of the Year
Lloyds Acquisition Finance
Venture Capital Deal of the Year
DFJ Esprit for Buy.at
Growth Capital & Buyout Deal of the Year
Dunedin for Gardner
Fundraising of the Year (<£1bn)
ECI Partners for ECI 9
Fundraising of the Year (>£1bn)
CVC Capital Partners for CVC European Equity Partners V
Secondaries House of the Year
HarbourVest Partners
The Transparency and Disclosure Award
Cinven
House of the Year: Venture and Small Buyouts
Bowmark Capital
House of the Year: Mid-Market and Large Buyouts
ECI Partners
Hall of Fame
Adrian Beecroft, Apax Partners
Personality of the Year
Jonathan Russell, 3i
And EVCA Chairman 2008-2009
About Real Deals and Caspian Publishing
Real Deals is the leading media brand for European private equity. The title is pubished by Caspian Publishing, the London-based B2B magazine publisher and event organiser. Caspian's proprietary titles include Real Business, and Real Deals. Caspian also publishes Business Voice for the CBI and is one of the UK's biggest organisers of B2B events, awards and conferences.
For further information, please visit www.realdeals.eu.com or www.caspianpublishing.co.uk.
About the BVCA
The BVCA represents the vast majority of private equity and venture capital in the UK. It is committed to promoting the private equity industry for the benefit of entrepreneurs, investors, practitioners and the economy as a whole. The BVCA works with member firms and the individuals within those firms to enhance their performance and professional standards.
For further information, please visit www.bvca.co.uk
For any enquiries contact
Amy Carroll, editor of Real Deals on 020 7368 7137 or 07875 020728 or amy@realdeals.eu.com
