Articles From the Team
North West Dealmaker Awards 2014
On Thursday 20th November the North West Business Insider hosted the North West Dealmaker Awards 2014. This annual event celebrates the success of Corporate Finance professionals in North West market. With deal flow and investment having increased substantially over the last 12 months, this was always going to be a special year to celebrate excellence in this field.
A sell-out 954 people attended the event at Manchester Central last night. As well as awarding success and performance to Corporate Finance professionals at the very top of their game, the evening also raised money for The Christie. As North West Business Insider editor Chris Maguire acknowledged “Confidence has returned to the market in a big way, and the dealmakers we celebrate here tonight have done as much as anyone to keep the wheels of business turning throughout the North West."
Amongst the winners included DLA Piper, named as Law Firm of the Year, fighting off close rivals Pinsent Masons. DLA Piper completed more than 60 transactions during the last 12 months at a value in excess of £2.2bn. Shoosmiths, Addleshaw Goddard, Eversheds, Gateley, Hill Dickinson, DWF and Turner Parkinson were also shortlisted in the same category. Although Shoosmiths did not win this award they didn’t go home empty handed, as Deal of the Year went to Concept Life Sciences led by Deloitte & Shoosmiths, which was applauded for the complexity of the deal and it’s value creation. AIM Deal of the Year went to Boohoo.com with a £560m market capitalisation on admission , the largest AIM listing since 2006 in terms of both market capitalisation and equity raised. This award was sponsored by Kuits Solicitors.
It was a successful night all round for Zeus Capital who won Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year. Richard Hughes, co-founder of Zeus, also won Dealmaker of the Year. He was described as the "man who could float the Titanic" and was recognised as being at the heart of some of the biggest deals in both the North West and nationally in 2014. He was chosen by a cross-section of more than 50 industry experts.
For a list of all the winners and shortlisted candidates of this event please refer to this overview: http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/north-west/128295-richard-hughes-named-north-wests-top-dealmaker
For more information please contact BCL Legal or call 0845 241 0933.