BVCA names winners of Yorkshire & North East awards

The BVCA is pleased to announce the winners of the Yorkshire & North East Management Team Awards 2019.
Revealed and presented at a ceremony in Leeds, these awards are produced in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP and are our annual showcase for the best businesses in the UK backed by private equity and venture capital.
The full list of winners for the BVCA Yorkshire & North East Awards 2019:
Winner |
Backed by |
Category |
Fairstone Group | Synova Capital | Large Company Management Team |
Giacom | Livingbridge | Mid-Market Management Team |
WHP Engineering | Endless | Growth Management Team |
Cenergist | FW Capital | Venture-backed Management Team |
WHP Engineering | Endless | Business Transformation Management Team |
All of the winners are now automatically entered into the national final where they will compete with companies from our other regional finals. The national winners will be announced at the BVCA Gala Dinner on 28 November.
Yorkshire & North East winners
Large Company Management Team
Fairstone Group
Backed by Synova Capital
Fairstone, from its head office at Boldon Business Park in Newcastle, is a financial advisory and wealth management group, operating across both retail and corporate sectors from 47 locations across the UK.
Judges’ comments: “Since setting up Fairstone in 2008 with a vision of transforming the IFA industry through leveraging technology, Lee Hartley has created a business which now has 45 offices throughout the country. Supported by a broad and experienced management team and a strategy based on a unique buy-out model, Fairstone has had an outstanding year, having increased its client base by 24% and completed multiple acquisitions. Praise is also deserved for Fairstone’s CSR initiatives with the Fairstone Foundation supporting activities with Cancer Research UK and the World Transplant Games.”
Mid-Market Management Team
Giacom
Backed by Livingbridge
Giacom is a specialist cloud services marketplace which provides cloud services to the SME market, offering a one-stop platform for software, infrastructure and IT support services from its base in Hull.
Judges’ comments: “Since winning the Growth Management Team Award in 2018, Giacom has continued its impressive growth story with CEO Mike Wardel having further strengthened the management team to support this new stage of expansion. Substantial investment in the business’s cloud-based marketplace and the development of additional products has resulted in rapid growth in both customer numbers and average spend. A strong and customer-focused culture was also commended by the judges.”
Growth Management Team AND Business Transformation Management
WHP Engineering
Backed by Endless
WHP is an engineering company based in Gateshead and specialises in the integrated design, construction, validation and maintenance of hygienic, cleanrooms, laboratories, containment facilities, sterile processing environments and manufacturing facilities.
Judges’ comments: “Ian Lichfield was brought in by Endless post their investment in 2016 and has subsequently led the successful transformation of this business, including through expanding and realigning the existing management team. Having set an ambitious turnaround plan including the investment in new single-site facilities in Gateshead, the business has both returned to profitability and substantially grown revenues and order book. The judges applauded the scale and speed of the transformation, which has also generated significant new employment opportunities.”
Venture-backed Management Team
Cenergist
Backed by FW Capital
Cenergist is a Washington-headquartered specialist energy and water efficiency company working across the UK, Europe, India and Middle East to help public and private clients achieve energy, water and financial savings.
Judges’ comments: “Having co-founded the company in 2012, Mitesh Dhanak leads a very successful business that has established a strong position in the market and boasts an impressive customer base. With support from a vastly experienced wider management and non-executive team, Cenergist is going from strength to strength, having significantly grown revenues and profitability on the back of expanded services and products. There is huge opportunity for further growth, including internationally, with offices recently opened in the Netherlands, Spain and India.”
For further information, please contact
Tom Allchorne, Director, Communications, BVCA
+44 (0)20 7492 0407
[email protected] or [email protected]
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 at the end of the year in London. Please click here for more information.
- The Yorkshire & North East judging panel consists of: Owen Trotter (chair), Key Capital Partners; Mo Aneese, Livingbridge; Peter Armitage, Key Capital Partners; Paul Betts, Solingen Private Equity; Dan U Rosinke, Grant Thornton UK; Craig Hopwood, Maven Capital Partners; Barry Jackson, BGF; Aaron Lawson-Clark, NVM Private Equity; Nicola McQuaid, NorthEdge Capital; Nigel Owens, YFM Equity Partners; Andrew Ross, Endless; Ben Snow, 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 770 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.grantthornton.co.uk.