London and the South East businesses recognised for outstanding growth

Dynamic Planner, Celnor, Pure Cremation, 15Gifts and Bridewell have all won the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Vision 2025 Awards for the London and the South East of England.

Supported by Headline Sponsor, Grant Thornton and Supporting Sponsor, Santander, the annual awards honour the management teams of companies backed by private equity and venture capital, recognising both companies and their investors in different investment stages and across several categories: 
 

Scale-up: Dynamic Planner backed by FPE Capital

The judging panel were impressed by Dynamic Planner’s unique offerings, ability to remain competitive and scale rapidly whilst continuing to drive a strong product roadmap, and champion ESG responsibilities.
 

Medium: Celnor backed by Inflexion

Celnor was recognised by the judges for successfully balancing the service quality of a small business with the benefits, stability and security of being part of a large group. The judges commented on the companies impressive commercial success whilst maintaining a strong commitment to ESG and D&I.
 

Medium: Pure Cremation backed by Epiris

Pure Cremation stood out to the judges as a true “management led transformation”, with the business being transformed without any additional capital in a very short period of time. By heavily focusing on personalisation and quality service, Pure is helping families both financially and emotionally at one of the hardest moments in their lives.
 

International Expansion: 15Gifts backed by FPE Capital

The judges praised the company for being a market leader in generative AI agents which simulates real conversations using over a decade of data. With impressive growth, global expansion, and a people-first culture, its leadership has driven innovation, performance, and inclusive growth—setting a benchmark in AI-powered customer engagement.
 

Exit: Bridewell backed by Growth Capital Partners

Bridewell stood out to the judges in the Exit category because of the companies commitment to platform development, automation, and nurturing talent. It was clear that Bridewell had made bold investments into AI, platform innovation and international expansion, which had clearly contributed to its commercial success.
 

Commenting, BVCA Chief Executive Michael Moore said:

“We are proud to honour the outstanding successes of this year’s winners who have demonstrated the impact that private equity and venture capital has in London and the South East.

“These businesses and their private capital backers exemplify how our industry is supporting jobs and growth right across the nations and regions of the United Kingdom.”
 

Commenting, Amo Anim-Addo, Private Equity Coverage Partner at Grant Thornton said:

“It’s inspiring to witness the breadth of dynamic and forward-thinking companies thriving across London and the South East, each creating a real impact in their industries and strengthening the regional economy. Congratulations to the winners.

“We are proud to support the Vision 2025 Awards, recognising the remarkable leadership of these businesses and the crucial contribution of their private capital investors in driving sustainable growth and long-term prosperity.”
 

Andrew Clayton, Head of Financial Sponsors at Santander said:

“A huge congratulations to Bridewell, Pure Cremation, Celnor, Dynamic Planner and 15Gifts for their remarkable achievements. The winners of this year’s London and South East Vision Awards 2025 truly showcase the depth of innovation and entrepreneurial talent thriving across these regions.

“At Santander, we are proud to support the wider private capital ecosystem, and we remain committed to helping high-growth businesses turn their ambitions into reality.”
 

Commenting, Anthony Young, CEO of Bridewell said: 

“It is fantastic for the team to be recognised through this prestigious award for all their hard work and dedication to build the UK’s leading cyber security services company focused on protecting critical infrastructure. With the backing of Growth Capital Partners since 2021, who helped us build the foundations to scale, we managed to achieve our goals together, quadrupling revenue and EBITDA through a well thought through strategic approach to both organic and inorganic growth through the UK and more latterly the US.”
 

Commenting, Ravi Monteiro, Partner at Growth Capital Partners said:

“We are delighted that Bridewell has been recognised with this BVCA Vision Award, a well-deserved acknowledgement for their exceptional team and culture and a testament to the company’s outstanding growth and impact. Over the past four years, it has been a privilege to support the ambitious management team build the UK’s leading CNI-focused cyber security services business. From scaling leadership and talent to driving international expansion and M&A, our partnership supported Bridewell to position for long-term success, and we look forward to seeing their continued growth.”
 

Commenting, Dean Lamble, CEO of Pure Cremation said:

“We’re delighted to win a 2025 Vision Award. Pure Cremation has grown tremendously over the last two years by delivering on what customers want – making it easier to have a celebration of someone’s life, rather than the traditional, Victorian crematoria experience that can include costs for add-ons and extras they don’t want.”

“Epiris has been a fantastic business partner throughout, sharing our ambitions and supporting our growth as we continue our transformation, extend our market-leading position and cement our status as the foremost brand in the sector.”
 

Commenting, Owen Wilson, Chief Investment Partner at Epiris said:

“We are thrilled for the recognition Pure has earned with this 2025 Vision Award. Pure is a strong example of our strategy of partnering with outstanding CEOs to transform high-quality businesses. In this case, the CEO is Dean who, in less than two years, has transformed the business by building an exceptional team and delivering best-in-class service to customers. Congratulations from all of us at Epiris to Dean and his team.”
 

Commenting, Simon Parrington, Group Chief Executive Officer at Celnor said:

“This award is a great acknowledgment of the hard work, commitment, and passion shown by the entire Celnor team over the last 2 years and we’re really honoured to win it. With the backing of Inflexion since our first acquisition, we’ve achieved significant organic growth, whilst making 32 acquisitions and building a scaled back office platform to support 1,700 colleagues and annual revenues in excess of £170m.”
 

Commenting, Dominic Clark, Investment Director at Inflexion said:

“Inflexion is delighted that Celnor has been recognised with a BVCA Vision Award and congratulates the management team on their outstanding achievement. Since partnering with Inflexion in October 2023, Celnor has scaled rapidly to become a leading TICC platform, combining strong organic growth with a disciplined integration strategy. We are proud to support Simon Parrington and his team as they continue to build a platform of scale, expand into new markets, and deliver critical services and data to customers worldwide.”
 

Commenting, Ben Goss, CEO of Dynamic Planner said:

"We are delighted to win this award. Our commitment to helping our customers unlock trusted financial advice at scale through our digital advice platform has resulted in the continued growth which this award recognises". 
 

Commenting, Dan Walker, Partner, FPE Capital said:

"Our congratulations to Ben and the whole team at Dynamic Planner on winning this prestigious BVCA award. In such a competitive region of the UK, it is a testament to the business they have built which is customer-centric and committed to its mission to deliver a platform to its customers, including UK advice firms and wealth managers, which helps them to match their clients with suitable financial solutions for their life goals. The delivery of this mission is creating some impressive financial performance but also enabling the company to continue to invest in the products of the future for its industry".
 

Commenting, Tom Cox, CEO of 15gifts said:

“We’re incredibly proud to receive this recognition, which reflects the hard work and dedication of the entire 15gifts team. This award is a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come.

“The launch of Humara, our AI sales agent, has redefined what’s possible in digital sales by uniquely combining the psychology and craft of human sales experts with cutting-edge AI. This innovation has already attracted major global enterprises, who recognise its ability to deliver real business impact.

“We’re deeply grateful for the support and partnership of FPE, whose investment and guidance have been pivotal in accelerating our growth. We’re excited for what’s ahead as we continue to expand our international customer base and redefine the digital sales experience.”
 

Commenting, Llewellyn John, Partner, FPE Capital said:

“Congratulations to Tom and all the team at 15gifts on winning the International Expansion award. It’s a well-earned recognition of the progress they’ve made in scaling a UK-grown AI business into international markets. 15Gifts’ unique AI-led digital sales agent, Humara, has been trained by the best human sales agents and on millions of data points to assist consumers through complex purchasing decisions. This combination of deep technical capability and sharp commercial focus has won the confidence of global enterprise customers that the value they deliver continues to set 15gifts apart. We’re proud to be part of the journey and excited for the next stage of international growth.” 

Notes to Editors

For further information, please contact:  
BVCA Press Office 
Email: [email protected] 

About the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association

The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is the industry body and public policy advocate for the private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) (private capital) industry in the UK. With a membership of over 600 firms, we represent the vast majority of all UK-based private capital firms, as well as their professional advisers and a large base of UK and global investors. The private equity and venture capital industry has a vital role to play in driving national and regional growth. Currently almost 13,000 companies, employing more than 2.5 million people, are backed by private equity and venture capital investment in the UK.