We are delighted to announce that Smith Cooper Corporate Finance, the specialist corporate finance division of Smith Cooper, are in the running for three awards at the Midlands Dealmakers Awards, as voted for by a panel of industry experts and judges.
The Insider Dealmaker awards recognise the very best in deal-making across the region, and the event is the region’s biggest celebration of mergers, acquisitions, funding, and buyouts.
Despite a backdrop of Brexit uncertainty, changes to entrepreneurs’ relief and Covid-19 impacting the deal making market, deal activity remained robust, reflected in the circa. 700 transactions completed in the region, worth a staggering £8.1bn (where the value was been disclosed).
The hive of activity reflects in the number of nominations submitted to Insider, which topped 350 this year – a nod to the Midlands dynamic deal arena and the success that has been achieved over the last 12 months.
The three categories that we’ve been nominated for are:
- SME Advisory Team of the Year
- SME Deal of the Year – MBO of Corstorphine + Wright
- Emerging Dealmaker of the Year – Tom Joy
Darren Hodson, Head of the Birmingham Corporate finance unit comments “We had an exceptional year to March 20, completing £212m-worth of transactions of all shapes and sizes, a performance underpinning our recognition in these award shortlists.”
“The outbreak of COVID-19 naturally put some of our projects on hold, but the relatively quick resurgence of activity is palpable, even in some difficult sectors such as hospitality. Our team are working hard, and we are winning new projects, the majority of which are typical buy-outs and trade sales rather than distressed M&A”.
“At a macro level, the economic recovery and freedom from the constraints of the pandemic remain unclear, but we are confident that we, and indeed the Midlands financial community, will react innovatively, flexibly and positively and continue to assert our credentials as a deal-making hotspot.”
John Farnsworth, Partner and Head of Smith Cooper Corporate Finance added “We’re very proud of the team we have curated here at Smith Cooper Corporate Finance; they continue to excel and flourish in this difficult pandemic environment and the competitive M&A marketplace, delivering exceptional outcomes. We’re fortunate to represent an incredibly diverse range of clients and relish the opportunity to enable the realisation of their strategic visions.”
The Insider Midlands Dealmaker Awards 2020 ceremony is set to take place on the delayed date of Wednesday 4 November at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, government regulations permitting.
