DEALMAKERS: DEAL OF THE YEAR
When Pets at Home was sold to Bridgepoint Capital in July this year, it made founder Anthony Preston £3115m richer and became one of 3i's most successful investments ever.
WILL THE REAL DEALMAKER PLEASE STAND UP
The great and good of the north west's dealmaking community gathered together to celebrate and congratulate their dealmaking prowess
And so to the Palace Hotel for Insider's fourth annual Dealmakers Awards and the tightest and slickest we've done yet.
The success of the region's corporate finance sector over the year was in full evidence as over 500 professionals and their guests gathered to celebrate and congratulate.
Unlike in previous years, the winners and shortlisted came from right across the board, with only two businesses getting more than one award - LDC's Paul Johnson snatching individual VC of the year and his colleague Grant Berry winning Dealmaker of the Year, and Royal Bank of Scotland's Phil Tarimo winning banker of the year, while his firm got the team award.
Our new award - Pets at Home won Deal of the Year - also attracted a strong shortlist with little to choose between them.
It's also fair to say that there was plenty of professional respect for regional advisers who worked hard to find new owners for some well-publicised deals that fell at a late hurdle.
But it's possibly even more significant for the region that there was so much activity. In a difficult market the rewards go to those with a bit of luck, but also a fair amount of dedication and perseverance. Deals are always there to be done, and that's precisely why those who have risen to the challenge over the past year were honoured in the awards.
How the winners are selected
Winners of the Dealmakers Awards 2004 were selected by the number of votes they received from their peers. Ballot papers were sent out for teams to make a collective decision. No team could vote more than once, nor could they vote in their own categories.
Charity funds
As well as providing a great time for everyone in the North West corporate finance community, the event also raised £37,800 for North West children's hospice Clare House.
The raffle was helped by the donation of excellent prizes: two portrait sessions from Venture Portaits and the top prize of a pair of return tickets to Las Vegas from Manchester, courtesy of airline bmi and its marketing agency Mere Communications.
The winner of the flights was Peadar O'Reilly, regional manager of Enterprise Finance Europe; while the portraits went to 3i's James Morris and Bank of Scotland's Richard Faulkner.
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