BVCA announces winners of the Northern Ireland Management Team Awards
The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is pleased to announce the winners of the Northern Ireland 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 of the winners will be announced and presented with their prizes tonight at the annual BVCA Northern Ireland Dinner, held at The Merchant Hotel, Belfast. They will now be entered into the national final to compete against other UK regions, and the national winners will be announced at the BVCA Gala Dinner on 8 December in London.
The full list of winners for the BVCA Northern Ireland Management Team Awards 2016:
Winner |
Backed by |
Category |
| Seven Technologies Group | YFM | Mid-Market Team |
| Shnuggle | Clarendon Fund Managers and Halo Business Angel Network | Venture or Growth Company Team |
| Colin Reid, Total Mobile | Lyceum Capital | CEO |
Peter Garvey, Chair of the Northern Ireland judging panel and Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, said: “This year’s winners demonstrate the important role private equity and venture capital plays in developing vibrant businesses that contribute to Northern Ireland’s economic success. The BVCA Management Team Awards are a recognition and celebration of outstanding business performance and management team excellence across the country, and Northern Ireland has produced an outstanding set of companies. Good luck to all in the national finals.”
Richard Gillan, Managing Partner of Grant Thornton Northern Ireland, said: "Grant Thornton is proud to be associated with the BVCA Management Team Awards and delighted that the quality of entries and level of competition for this year’s awards has been so high. The winners reflect the high quality businesses in Northern Ireland that are now accessing this form of investment to help them grow and ensure their businesses reach their full potential. We are delighted to not only see the range of businesses that entered the awards but also the growing number of BVCA member firms that have now invested in Northern Ireland companies.”
The winners are:
Mid-Market Team
Seven Technologies
Backed by YFM
Seven Technologies Group is a Lisburn-based specialist security and surveillance business, providing advanced tactical remote sensing, communications, tracking, search and cyber security solutions to a range of customers, with a primary focus on the Special Forces and Intelligence Communities.
Led by CEO and co-founder Jim Hook, the company employs over 100 people in its three offices throughout the UK, and has significantly increased its international sales, selling to 28 countries in 2015. This year it opened an office in Abu Dhabi.
YFM first invested in Seven in April 2012 and then again in June 2013 when the business acquired AIM-listed Datong, a Leeds-headquartered provider of intelligence equipment and solutions.
Judges’ comments: “Under Jim Hook and the management team, Seven Technologies has evolved into a substantive business, and the judges were particularly impressed with its exports growth and expansion into overseas geographies such as the Middle East.”
Venture or Growth Company Team of the Year
Shnuggle
Backed by Clarendon Fund Managers and Halo Business Angel Network
Shnuggle is an innovative baby products company based in County Down. Founded by Adam and Sinead Murphy, they draw on their experience as parents to design unique and multi-award winning baby products.
Founded in 2009 with £50,000 of personal investment, in 2010 the business launched the world’s first hypo-allergenic Moses basket. Turnover growth and profit growth has been substantial, and Schnuggle’s products can be found in retail chains like John Lewis, The White Company and Argos, as well as selling around the world in countries such as China, the USA and Brazil. In 2013 the business raised its first round of external investment via the Halo Business Network, followed by a second in 2014. Clarendon Fund Managers is also an investor.
Judges’ comments: “We were impressed with the quality of the product, the development of the brand, the growth Shnuggle has achieved and the fact the business is already turning a profit.”
CEO of the Year
Colin Reid, Total Mobile
Backed by Lyceum Capital
Total Mobile is an enterprise mobile software company which has been led by Colin Reid since the late 1990s.
Based in Belfast, it works with local government, healthcare organisations and others to transform their service delivery by more effectively managing their mobile workforce. The company provides software to enable frontline workers to use their mobile devices to work more efficiently and to a higher level of quality.
Its software is used by over 30,000 workers in more than 200 organisations in the public and private sectors, with customers including Fife Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Virgin Care and Allianz Engineering.
MMC Ventures first invested in Total Mobile in 2001 and sold its stake in September 2015 to Lyceum Capital.
Judges’ comments: “Under Colin Reid’s leadership, Total Mobile has been transformed over the years. It has not only shown turnover growth but substantial improvement in profitability. Colin as an individual has also contributed significantly to the wider technology market in Northern Ireland and more than deserves to be recognised for his endeavours.”
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 North West judging panel consists of: Peter Garvey (Chair), The Carlyle Group; Jim Curran, Clarendon Fund Managers; Charlie Kerlin, Grant Thornton; Aidan Langan, Enterprise Equity; Grainne Lennon, InterTradeIreland; William McCulla, Invest Northern Ireland; Jimmy Morris, LDC.
- 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
