Midlands and East of England business awards winners revealed

The BVCA is pleased to announce the winners of the Midlands and East Management Team Awards 2019, the annual showcase for the UK’s best businesses backed by venture capital and private equity.
Produced in association with Grant Thornton, the winners were presented with their awards last night at the BVCA’s annual Midlands Dinner at Birmingham Town Hall. All of them will now be entered into the national contest, the results of which will be revealed at a Gala Dinner in London on 28 November.
The full list of winners for the BVCA Midlands and East Management Team Awards 2019:
Winner |
Backed by |
Category |
Riviera Travel | Silverfleet Capital | Large Company Management Team |
Wavenet | Beech Tree Private Equity | Mid-Market Management Team |
ENSEK | LDC | Growth Management Team |
Quethera | Midven | Venture-backed Management Team |
Gill | YFM Equity Partners | Business Transformation Management Team |
Judges' comments
Large Company Management Team
Riviera Travel
Backed by Silverfleet Capital
Based in Burton-on-Trent, Riviera is a leading operator of escorted tours with a focus on the over 55s market.
Judges’ comments: Since their inception in 1984, Riviera has transformed itself significantly into a successful business with strong revenue and EBITDA growth. David Clemson and his team have successfully expanded the Riviera’s products and services, and widened their geographic locations, ensuring strong potential future growth. The management team have made the business an excellent place to work and have emphasised customer service and product development.
Mid-Market Management Team
Wavenet
Backed by Beech Tree Private Equity
Wavenet provides unified communication solutions to SMEs across the UK from its head office in Solihull.
Judges’ comments: Wavenet is a successful buy and build business that has made a series of key strategic bolt-on acquisitions to support the organic growth trajectory. Led by Bill Dawson, the management team has developed a number of specialist products whilst also enabling the business to scale rapidly. The business has made a number of key strategic bolt-on acquisitions to support the organic growth trajectory, whilst also successfully delivering a profit.
Growth Management Team
ENSEK
Backed by LDC
Headquartered in Nottingham, ENSEK uses software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to provide existing energy suppliers with its revenue assurance and gross margin accounting product.
Judges’ comments: Jon Slade and his team are leading a business that is performing very well and is delivering strong revenue, whilst also increasing its headcount and expanding into new markets. It has a strong commitment to innovation and is proving itself more than capable to adapt to a changing market landscape. ENSEK has a diverse and skilled team that consistently delivers year-on-year growth – it’s a truly impressive story.
Venture-backed Management Team
Quethera
Backed by Midven
Quethera, based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, is a gene therapy company dedicated to improving the future treatment of common blinding eye diseases.
Judges’ comments: Quethera are trailblazers in gene therapeutic design, with a management team that is committed and focused on developing potentially life-changing therapy for patients with glaucoma. Dr Peter Widdowson and his team have shown great care and attention to detail throughout their journey, which has been driven by clear commercial insight underpinned by a focus on generating strong and robust IP.
Business Transformation Management Team
Gill
Backed by YFM Equity Partners
Nottingham based Gill is a leading global manufacturer of technical sailing apparel.
Judges’ comments: Jamie Tunnicliffe and his team have successfully turned Gill around, transforming it into a successful global e-commerce company with a presence in 40 countries. Moreover, in just a short space of time, the new management team have increased EBITDA significantly, redefined the goals and strategy of the business, whilst simultaneously creating a strong and reputable brand with a growing product range.
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 Midlands and East judging panel consists of: Andrew Ferguson (Chair), Maven Capital Partners; Nick Gillott, Grant Thornton; Chris Handy, LDC; Richard Thomas, Palatine Private Equity; Charlie Robinson, YFM Equity Partners; Tim Whittard, WestBridge Capital; Andy Skinner, NorthEdge Capital; Paul Franks, Beech Tree Private Equity; Julian Dennard, Mercia Fund Managers; Simon Rowan, Dunedin; Roger Wood, Midven; Matthew Jacobs, Livingbridge; Richard Moore, Calculus Capital.
- 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.