On the 17th of August, the shortlist was revealed for the Wales Deal Makers Awards 2023. Let's dive into who made it onto the list! The details below have been referenced from Insider Media, in an article written by Douglas Friedli.
The Deal Maker Awards Judges
A well-put-together team of experienced members of the Welsh business community. With countless years of experience acting on various high-level chairs and boards, Mark Hindmarsh, Alys Carlton & Annie Finlayson are the perfect team to judge this year's awards.
The Categories
The Finalists
To be shortlisted for these awards is no small feat. This Deal Maker Network in Wales is stronger than ever with fierce competition. Congratulations to all those who've made it this far.
Emerging Dealmaker of the Year
Pablo Shorney, Lexington Corporate Finance
Sam Forman, Gambit Corporate Finance
Chiara Howfield, Acuity Law
Tom Coombes, Lexington Corporate Finance
Sam Huxtable, Waterspring Ventures
Funder of the Year
Lloyds Banking Group
HSBC UK
LDC
Santander
Development Bank of Wales
Barclays Bank
International Deal of the Year
Sale of TDS’s voice compliance practice to Kerv (Gambit Corporate Finance, Acuity Law, LDC, Pinsent Masons)
Investment in Mypinpad (Crossfin Holdings, Acuity Law, Webber Wentzel)
Air Water Ventures’ business combination with Athena Technology Acquisition (Acuity Law, White & Case, Jett Capital Advisors, Latham & Watkins, Cohen & Company Capital Markets)
Acquisition of The Corrugated Case Company by Tri-Wall UK (Acuity Law, Banner Jones, Translink Corporate Finance)
Acquisition of SCS by Systemair (Lexington Corporate Finance, Berry Smith)
Acquisition of Dene Healthcare by Rocialle Healthcare (Azets, Hugh James, Sentio Partners)
Private Equity / Venture Capital Deal of the Year
Investment in LCB to create Cardo Group (Buckthorn Partners, Berry Smith, Sidley Austin)
Buyout of Avantis Marine from Envoy & Partners (Development Bank of Wales, Grant Thornton, Berry Smith, Acuity Law, HSBC)
Investment in Mypinpad (Crossfin Holdings, Acuity Law, Webber Wentzel)
Investment in World Class Finance (Development Bank of Wales, Acuity Law, Capital Law)
Investment in, and buyout of, Idwal Marine Services (LDC, KPMG, Lexington Corporate Finance, Blake Morgan, Capital Law, OC&C, BDO, EY, Stout, Taylor Wessing, CIL)
Acquisition of Principality Plastics Warehouse by uPVC (Electrical & Plumbing) (Development Bank of Wales, Lewis Silkin, GS Verde, Geldards)
Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year
Lexington Corporate Finance
Azets
Cadre Advisory
Gambit Corporate Finance
Small Business Deal of the Year
Sale of KWL Architects to employee ownership trust (Acuity Law, Darwin Gray, Social Business Wales, BPU)
Sale of Hospital Innovations to Medscience Distribution, part of the Pharmed Group (Darwin Gray, Haines Watts, Flynn O’Driscoll, Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide)
Buy-in management buyout of The Consumer Helpline (Iridium Corporate Services, SME Capital, Thompson Darwin)
Funding for Sero Technologies (Legal & General Investments, Carlyle Trust, Blake Morgan, CMS Cameron Mckenna Nabarro Olswang)
Acquisition of Gower Business Systems by Flotek Group (GS Verde Group)
Acquisition of Recovery Care by Accomplish Group (Lexington Corporate Finance, Capital Law, Gateley, Alvarez and Marsal)
Acquisition of SCS by Systemair (Lexington Corporate Finance, Berry Smith)
Corporate Law Firm of the Year
Berry Smith
Blake Morgan
Harrison Clark Rickerbys
Acuity Law
Deal of the Year
Veezu’s acquisition of City Taxis and Excel (Gambit Corporate Finance, Grant Thornton, Osborne Clarke, Tresmares, Santander, MML Capital)
Investment in, and buyout of, Idwal Marine Services (LDC, KPMG, Lexington Corporate Finance, Blake Morgan, Capital Law, OC&C, BDO, EY, Stout, Taylor Wessing, CIL)
Acquisition of Location One by Facilities by ADF (Acuity Law, Hill Dickinson, Mazars, Crowe)
Brickability Group’s acquisition of ET Clay Products and Heritage Clay Tiles (Acuity Law, Cenkos Securities, Monfort Communications, Kilsby Williams, Edwards Duthie Shamash)
Sale of Wales Environmental to Hartsmil (Acuity Law, Lexington Corporate Finance, Nockolds)
Sale of The Safeguarding Company to Tes (Shaw & Co, Octopus Ventures, KPMG, DLA, Burges Salmon, Ernst & Young)
Sale of Cansford Laboratories to Phenna Group (Lexington Corporate Finance, Berry Smith, RSM, Avonhurst)
Dealmaker of the Year
Jason Evans, Gambit Corporate Finance
Thomas Edwards, Lexington Corporate Finance
Dewi Hughes, LDC
Beverley Jones, Acuity Law
Jay Ball, Flotek Group
Katherine Broadhurst, Azets
Conclusion
We wish all of the finalists the best of luck and are proud to be part of the Welsh Deal Makers Community! Whilst we didn't make the shortlist this year, we will be aiming to get our name on an award next year.
A special congratulations to all those involved in helping these great companies and directors get onto the list. Deal-making is all about cooperation and no deal is done with just 1 person.