BVCA announces winners of Midlands Management Team Awards 2017

The winners of the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Management Team Awards 2017 for the Midlands have now been announced. These awards are our annual celebration of UK companies supported by private equity and venture capital funds, produced in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP.
Now in their ninth year, the BVCA Management Team Awards recognise and reward brilliant businesses across the country that have been backed by UK private equity and venture capital investors.
The Midlands winners will be announced and presented with their prizes tonight, as part of the BVCA National Dinner Series – the premier annual gatherings of regional private equity and venture capital professionals in the UK. They will then go forward into the national final to compete against our other regions, before the national winners are announced at the BVCA Gala Dinner on 30 November in London.
The full list of winners for the Midlands Management Team Awards 2017:
Winner |
Backed by |
Category |
NEC Group | LDC | Large Company Team |
UK Power Reserve | Inflexion and Equistone | Mid-Market Team |
Horizon Care & Education | Stage Capital | Growth Management Team |
Allinea Software | Mercia Fund Management and Midven | Venture-backed Management Team |
Gardner Aerospace | Better Capital | Business Transformation Management Team |
Andrew Ferguson, chair of the Midlands judging panel and partner at Maven Capital Partners said: “This past year has been a great one for the diverse businesses of the Midlands. The BVCA Management Team Awards recognise and showcase these successful companies, which are supported by private equity and venture capital. Congratulations to this evening’s winners and best of luck in the final.”
Alex Hyde, director in Grant Thornton’s Transaction Advisory Services team in Birmingham, said: “Grant Thornton is delighted to continue its support for the BVCA Management Team Awards. The standard of nominations in the Midlands region this year has been very high, reflecting the quality and diversity of the region’s companies, the energy and drive of their private equity backers, and the vibrancy of the Midlands economy as a whole.”
The winners are:
Large Company Management Team
NEC Group
Backed by LDC
The NEC Group welcomes over seven million consumers and corporate clients each year at its world-renowned venues.
Judge’s comments: “Backed by LDC in 2015, Paul Thandi and his team impressed the judges by the way in which they are developing the commercial potential of this venue, notably the launch of Resorts World. Their management of the day-to-day business was also impressive, including their investment in people and in data capture technology.”
Mid-Market Team
UK Power Reserve
Backed by Inflexion and Equistone
UK Power Reserve is a leading provider of secure, flexible, low carbon electricity and services to the UK power market.
Judge’s comments: “It operates 40 low-carbon generation plants and provides fast-response reserve power to the national grid as well as to other government bodies. Since being backed by private equity in 2015, Tim Emrich and his team have grown the business by investing in greater efficiency and responding in a fast and entrepreneurial manner to new opportunities. The business is increasing its footprint in the UK, with further potential internationally.”
Growth Management Team of the Year
Horizon Care & Education
Backed by Stage Capital
Horizon operate 38 homes and six schools for young people in care.
Judge’s comments: “Since joining as CEO in 2014 Paul Callander had built a strong management team and transformed both the culture and the performance of the business. Horizon are now innovators in the sector, developing new transitional pathways from childrens’ to adult care. The quality of delivery can be seen in the five-fold increase in demand from local authority clients.”
Venture-backed Management Team
Allinea Software
Backed by Mercia Fund Management, Midven
Allinea Software is the leading provider of software tools for developing and optimising high performance code.
Judge’s comments: “The judges were impressed with David Lecomber and his team, who have taken a project within a university spin-out and developed it into the leading provider of analysis tools for High Performance Computing. Allinea’s global customer base is a testament to the respect it commands in this sector. A strategic exit to ARM in December 2016 proved its pre-eminence.”
Business Transformation Management Team
Gardner Aerospace
Backed by Better Capital
Gardner is one of the aerospace industry’s largest and most diverse manufacturers of finished machined and fabricated Detailed Parts made from hard and soft metals.
Judge’s comments: “Nick Sanders has led this business since 2010 when Better Capital invested. Working with his investors, Nick and his team have transformed the company, both by taking a UK business and making it fully international, but also by investing in quality at every level, both people and equipment. The company was recently ranked as Airbus’ No. 1 supplier and has an order book in excess of $1bn.”
Notes to editor
- The BVCA Management Team Awards, produced in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP, are the only awards to celebrate the achievements of private equity and venture capital-backed management teams. There are eight regions in total, each with their own judging panel, and all winners are automatically forwarded to the national final, the results of which will be presented at the BVCA Annual Gala Dinner on 30 November in London. Please click here for more information..
- The Midlands judging panel consists of: Andrew Ferguson, Maven Capital Partners; Roger Wood, Midven; Mark Freer, Business Growth Fund; Matt Upton, LivingBridge; Andy Lyton, LDC; Richard Thomas, Palatine; Charlie Robinson, YFM; Simon Ward, ITG; Mark Egerton, Quotient..
- The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is the industry body for the UK private equity and venture capital industry. The BVCA has over 600 member firms, representing the vast majority of UK-based private equity and venture capital firms and their advisers..
- Grant Thornton is one of the world’s leading organisations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms. These firms help dynamic organisations unlock their potential for growth by providing meaningful, forward-thinking advice. Proactive teams, led by approachable partners in these firms, use insights, experience and instinct to understand complex issues for privately owned, publicly listed and public sector clients and help them to find solutions. More than 35,000 Grant Thornton people, across over 100 countries, are focused on making a difference to clients, colleagues and the communities in which we live and work. The UK Grant Thornton member firm provides services to over 40,000 privately held businesses, public interest entities and individuals. It is led by more than 185 partners and employs more than 4,200 of the profession's brightest minds. Find out more at www.grant-thornton.co.uk.