BVCA announces winners of South East Management Team Awards 2016

The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is pleased to announce the winners of the South East Management Team Awards 2016, our annual celebration of excellence in private equity and venture capital, produced in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP.
Now in its eighth year, the BVCA Management Team Awards recognise and reward the achievements and success of businesses across the UK which are backed by private equity and venture capital funds.
All the winners will be announced and presented with their prize tonight as part of BVCA High Growth, our annual conference for fast-growing businesses backed by private equity and venture capital. They will now be entered into the national final to compete against other UK regions before the national winners are announced at the BVCA Gala Dinner on 8 December in London.
The full list of winners for the BVCA South East Management Team Awards 2016:
Winner |
Backed by |
Category |
Shimtech Industries | Inflexion Private Equity Capital (to December 2015) and now GHO Capital |
Large Company Team |
Rhubarb | ECI Partners | Mid-Market Team |
Captify | Smedvig Capital and Panoramic Growth Equity | Venture or Growth Company Team |
Reward Gateway | Inflexion Private Equity and now Great hill Partners | Social Responsibility Team |
Neil Thackery, Briefing Media | Endless | Lyceum Capital |
Tim Farazmand, Chair of the South East judging panel and Adviser at LDC, said: “It has been a fantastic year for South East businesses and the BVCA Management Team Awards demonstrate this perfectly. It is companies like these which best illustrate how private equity and venture capital works in the real world, which is why these awards are so important. The BVCA recognises how crucial it is to showcase how our industry is supporting and growing companies both herein the South East and across the entire country, and I congratulate all the winners here and wish them good luck in the national final.”
The winners are:
Large Company Team
Shimtech Industries
Backed by Inflexion Private Equity
Shimtech is a market leading aerospace components supplier, manufacturing specialist gap management components critical in the assembly of commercial and military aircraft.
It counts the world’s leading airline manufacturers, such as Boeing and Airbus, amongst its customers, and from its head office in Hayes in Middlesex it operates across the globe with four sites in the US and three in Europe, employing more than 500 people worldwide.
Inflexion partnered with Auctus Industries to acquire Shimtech in May 2015 from Bridgepoint Development Capital, which backed a management buyout from Hampson Industries in 2011.
Judges’comments: “The judges were impressed with the skill of this management team in the rapid expansion of this complex, international high-tech manufacturing business. They have achieved outstanding quality and customer service, shown in the award by Boeing of Supplier of the Year. The team managed the successful sale from Bridgepoint to Inflexion whilst simultaneously acquiring two companies and hitting all of their 2015 KPIs.”
Mid-Market Team
Rhubarb
Backed by ECI Partners
Rhubarb is a luxury catering company that operates through both a portfolio of managed restaurant locations in London and individual event catering services.
Founded in 1996, Rhubarb opened its first restaurant at Heathrow Terminal 3 in 2008, and has since opened restaurants in the Saatchi Gallery, the Royal Albert Hall (three restaurants and 142 hospitality boxes), Heathrow Terminal 5, and the Sky Garden atop the Walkie Talkie skyscraper on Fenchurch Street. During this time Heston Blumenthal also joined the Board of Directors.
ECI Partners supported a management buyout of the Wandsworth-based business in 2012.
Judges’comments: “Rhubarb has established a premium brand in its market and the management team follows through on the brand promises with great food quality and service. The quality of the business also shows through in staff motivation and retention and in remarkable resilience in the face of adverse events. The rewards are now evident in impressive new customer wins and financial performance.”
Venture or Growth Company Team of the Year
Captify
Backed by Smedvig Capital and Panoramic Growth Equity
Founded in 2011, Captify has developed proprietary search intelligence technology which powers digital advertising across desktop, video and mobile.
It has offices in London, New York, Paris, Hamburg and Kiev, and works with over 88 media agencies in the UK and over 100 globally; and runs campaigns on behalf of the world’s largest brands including Microsoft, British Airways, Barclays, Warner Brothers and American Express.
Captify raised £1.2 million in a Series A round led by Panoramic Growth Equity in 2013,and in 2015 Smedvig Capital led an £8 million Series B funding alongside existing investors including Panoramic.
Judges’comments: “The Captify team has achieved impressive growth and built a high quality customer base in a very fast-moving market and against well-resourced international competition. This reflects the quality of their technology and their ability to innovate at speed. The judges were also impressed with their determination to build an international culture from the outset whilst also putting great care into developing and retaining talent.”
Social Responsibility Team
Reward Gateway
Backed by Inflexion Private Equity and now Great Hill Partners
Reward Gateway is the market leading employee engagement technology specialist with almost 1,100 clients in the UK, US, and Australia.
Based in Notting Hill, the company’s technology powers employee benefits, salary sacrifice schemes, total reward systems, and recognition programmes. It is a leading provider of mobile optimised, SaaS employee engagement software used by corporate HR departments to attract, engage and retain their talent. Clients including IBM, American Express, Vodafone and Unilever.
Consistent with its culture, Reward Gateway encourages individuals to take on social responsibility initiatives and to use their specific expertise to help charities. It makes available 150 volunteering days across the company and people submit applications to use some of these days for a cause.
Judges’ comments: “The judges were impressed with the commitment of both the company and individual staff members to a scheme encouraging volunteering time and skills for good causes. The range and impact of projects undertaken was inspiring.”
CEO of the Year
Neil Thackray, Briefing Media
Backed by Lyceum Capital
Briefing Media was founded in 2010 by experienced media executives Neil Thackray and Rory Brown. The business provides strategy insight and market intelligence for senior decision makers in the global media industry.
It expanded significantly in 2012 with the acquisition of Farmers Guardian and Pulse from UBM, a deal supported Kester Capital (formerly GCP Capital Partners). Further acquisitions of LAMMA (the UK's leading agricultural equipment and services exhibition) and Agrimoney (an intelligence portal covering the world of international agribusiness) followed, alongside the sale of the Pulse healthcare business to Cogora.
In July 2015 Lyceum Capital Partners backed a management buyout of the business, which employs 80 people in offices in London and Preston.
Over the years the business has benefitted enormously from co-founder and CEO Neil Thackray’s extensive experience in business reorganisation and turnaround.
Judges’ comments: “The judges commended Neil’s original vision fora new approach to platform neutral media, which he implemented by acquiring and transforming an existing business. The clarity and consistent articulation of his strategy has been key to the building of a market-leading and highly profitable group.
Notes to editor
- The BVCA Management Team Awards, produced in partnership with Grant Thornton, are the only awards to celebrate the achievements of UK private equity and venture capital-backed management teams. The awards consists of two rounds: regional and national. Each of the eight regions has a judging panel which decides on the winners following nominations from BVCA members and a comprehensive due diligence programme with in-depth interviews. The regional winners were announced in May and can be found here. All were automatically entered into the national final. For more information about the award categories please click here.
- The South East judging panel consists of: Tim Farazmand (Chair), LDC; Marion Bernard, Business Growth Fund; Gordon Beveridge; Scottish Equity Partners;Peter Davies, Technology Venture Partners; Tony Dickin, Palatine Private Equity; Tim Dunn, Phoenix Equity Partners; Andrew Ferguson, Maven Capital Partners; Michelle Fitzpatrick, Zeus Technology; Mark Hammond, Caird Capital;Charlie Johnstone, ECI Partners; Mo Merali, Grant Thornton.
- 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 500 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