South West businesses pick up management awards

The BVCA is pleased to announce the winners of the South West Management Team Awards 2019.
Revealed and presented at a ceremony in Bath last night, 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 South West Management Team Awards 2019:
Winner |
Backed by |
Category |
Loungers | Lion Capital | Large Company Management Team |
BOFA International | LDC | Mid-Market Management Team |
Kinneir Dufort | Mobeus | Growth Management Team |
Blu Wireless | Calculus Capital | Venture-backed Management Team |
Portman Dental Care | Livingbridge (until July 2018) and Core Equity Holdings (since July 2018) |
Business Transformation Management Team |
All of the winners are now automatically entered into the national final where they will compete with other companies from across the country. The national winners will be announced at the BVCA Gala Dinner on 28 November.
Judges' comments
Large Company Management Team
Loungers
Backed by Lion Capital
Loungers is the multi-award winning operator of Lounge Café Bars and Cosy Club Bars and Restaurants, headquartered in Bristol.
Judges’ comments: “Founded in 2002, Loungers, with the support of successive private equity backers, has grown to over 140 sites in the UK, with the ambition and potential to open many more. The team, led by Nick Collins, has grown the business organically in a challenging market, and Loungers’ profit growth is exceptional. Equally impressive, it has done all this whilst maintaining market-leading gross and net margins. There is considerable potential from both existing and new sites to maintain this.”
Mid-Market Management Team
BOFA International
Backed by LDC
Poole’s BOFA International design, develops and manufactures fume and dust extraction systems.
Judges’ comments: “Tim Lockwood and his team have done an outstanding job since the MBO in 2015, evolving a family-run entity with a reputation for innovation and huge potential, into a rapidly growing private equity-backed business with an appetite to remain at the forefront of the portable filtration and fume extraction market. Its strong revenue figures – over 90% of which are from exports – and EBITDA growth led to a highly successful exit last year.”
Growth Management Team
Kinneir Dufort
Backed by Mobeus
Kinneir Dufort is a design consultancy based in Bristol, and has worked with the likes of Coca-Cola, Mars and Unilever.
Judges’ comments: “The 75-strong team led by Merle Hall successfully grew Kinneir Dufort’s revenues and EBITDA in 2018 and have built a solid base on which to continue this trajectory - a truly impressive achievement. The speed in which these actions have been implemented is almost unparalleled and demonstrates the talent and energy within the team.”
Venture-backed Management Team
Blu Wireless
Backed by Calculus Capital
Blu Wireless is the developer of a new type of Wi-Fi technology which delivers multi-gigabit, fibre-level connectivity that is cost-efficient, low power and reliable.
Judges’ comments: “Since receiving venture capital backing, Blu Wireless Technology has successfully grown its product range and headcount as it addresses the challenge of building cost-effective 5G networks and reliable connectivity on high-speed transport. Henry Nurser and his team have built a business that has gained global recognition in a competitive market.”
Business Transformation Management Team
Portman Dental Care
Backed by Livingbridge (until July 2018) and Core Equity Holdings (since July 2018)
Cheltenham-based Portman Dental Care is the largest provider of private-focused dental care in the UK.
Judges’ comments: “Founded in 2008 by Sam Waley-Cohen, Portman Dental Care has disrupted the dentistry market by providing a more customer service focused approach. The management team has successfully implemented a rapid buy and build strategy and transformed the business into the fastest growing provider of private dentistry in the UK, with a total of 102 practices across the UK and further expansion planned in Europe.”
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 South West judging panel consists of: Richard Babington, Mobeus; Jonathan Boss, Downing; Alexander Crawford, Calculus Capital; Guy Davies, WestBridge Fund Managers; Julian Dennard, Mercia Fund Managers; Colin Granger, YFM; Simon Hemley, LDC; Paul Oldham, BGF; Andrew Symmonds, Maven Capital Partners; Paul Wood, Grant Thornton UK.
- 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.