BVCA announces winners of South East Management Team Awards 2018

Outstanding businesses in the South East will receive recognition this evening at the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Management Team Awards 2018, 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 10th year, the Management Team Awards recognise and reward exceptional businesses across the country that have been backed by UK private equity and venture capital investors and are reaching new heights of innovation, social responsibility and growth.

The award winners will be announced and presented with their prizes tonight as part of the BVCA Chairwoman’s Dinner. This event brings together BVCA Chairs, past and present, along with senior industry figures, parliamentarians and major players in corporate Britain. The winners 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 29 November in London.

The full list of winners for the BVCA South East Management Team Awards 2018:

Charlie Johnstone, Chair of the South East judging panel and Partner at ECI Partners LLP, said: “UK investment has reached new heights over the past year, and businesses in London and the South East are flourishing. The BVCA Management Team Awards highlight some of the incredible teams leading their businesses to success while exemplifying the excellence encouraged by private equity and venture capital. Congratulations to this evening’s winners and good luck in the national final.”

South East winners

Meritsoft – Growth Management Team

Backed by Synova Capital and FiveW Capital

Formed in 2000, Meritsoft provides an intelligent automated platform for tax, regulatory and claims solutions for investment banks and capital markets. Today five out of the top seven investment houses use Meritsoft’s future focused solutions.

As the demand for Meritsoft’s products accelerated, the firm received backing from Synova Capital and FiveW in 2015 which helped Meritsoft launch a suite of new products and expand across Europe and the US.

Judges’ comments: “Kerrill and Paul Burke, along with their fellow team members, have developed an outstanding business in a demanding sector. Meritsoft’s high margin, growth in recurring revenue and EBTDA all stand out. This has been achieved with a small, dedicated team of 18 people.”

Efficio – Mid-Market Management Team

Backed by Livingbridge

Efficio works with clients across the world to help them achieve breakthrough and sustainable results in their procurement functions.

Founded in 2000, the company received funding from Livingbridge in 2016 and has evolved significantly to offer a broader spectrum of services, including long-term managed services business and a suite of procurement technologies that help clients to manage and sustain benefits over the long term. Headquartered in London with offices around the world, Effico supports an impressive list of clients including the NHS, Coca-Cola and BP.

Judges’ comments: “Efficio is a fantastic example of sustainability of growth over a long period. Jens Pederson and his colleagues have an 18 year track record in scaling a people business and doing something differentiated in a competitive market”.

QA - Large Company Management Team

Backed by Bregal Capital/EMK Capital and CVC Capital Partners

QA is the UK's leading provider of IT education and skills development, helping more than 5,000 corporate and public sector clients meet their increasing IT and business skills requirements. From its beginnings in 1985 it now has a turnover of £214 million and has delivered training solutions for over 6,000 clients.

Judges’ comments: “William Macpherson has had a huge impact on QA and shown great leadership over 10 years. The growth and scale of QA, including profit and employment growth, makes QA stand out in this competitive category this year”

Ink – Business Transformation Management Team

Backed by Endless

Ink creates award-winning media and builds innovative technology to provide more than 100 differentiated products across 21 airlines and travel groups. These unique partnerships allow more than 802 million passengers annually to interact with Ink, creating opportunities for advertisers to connect with a highly receptive global audience through over 28 inflight magazines, online, and on mobile devices in over 10 languages.

Founded in 1994 in London, Ink employs over 250 people in six offices around the globe.

Judges’ comments: “Since the MBO led by Michael Keating, Simon Leslie and Jim Campbell in 2014, Ink has had clear direction and significantly exceeded expectations. The company was changed in 24 months from a high growth, low profit business to super growth, highly profitable, increasing market share with a robust governance environment”.

Darktrace – Venture-backed Management Team

Backed by KKR, Summit Partners and others

With over 1,000 customer deployments, Darktrace's Enterprise Immune System has been selected by some of the largest and most sensitive cyber security environments, including global financial institutions, telecommunications networks, legal firms, retailers, technology companies, government organizations, and critical national infrastructure facilities.

Judges’ comments: “From university beginnings, Darktrace operates in a massive market and through great tech and marketing is making huge waves even where there are many well established incumbents. They are doing something fundamentally new and are well poised for further growth.”

For further information and photographs, please contact

Tom Allchorne, Director, Communications, BVCA
+44 (0)20 7492 0407
[email protected]

Notes to editor

1. 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 29 November in London. Please click here for more information.


2. The South East judging panel consists of: Charlie Johnstone (Chair), ECI Partners; Marion Bernard, ‎McLarty Capital Partners; Alistair Bew, BGF; Jonathan Caswell, LDC; Peter Davies, Technology Partners; Tim Dunn, Phoenix Equity Partners; Andrew Ferguson, Baird Private Equity; Jon Lerner, Smedvig; Mo Merali, Grant Thornton; Dan Morgan, Montagu; Andy Strickland, Palatine Private Equity; Neil Thackray, Briefing Media.


3. 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 700 member firms, representing the vast majority of UK-based private equity and venture capital firms and their advisers.


4. 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.