2020 GROWTH INVESTOR AWARDS:
INVESTMENT PROVIDER & GROWTH CHAMPION FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

• 42 investment providers named as finalists are competing across 15 categories
• 3 investee companies named as growth champion finalists
• These exceptional companies channel investment capital into growing businesses up and down the UK
• Now in its sixth year, the Growth Investor Award winners will be revealed at a virtual ceremony in December

Intelligent Partnership, the UK’s leading provider of education and insight on alternative investments, is proud to announce the first set of finalists for the 2020 Growth Investor Awards, celebrating the investment providers with the passion, resilience and conviction to invest capital into the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises.

Now in their sixth year, the Growth Investor Awards are a landmark event in the investment calendar. With the support of investors, businesses, government and industry bodies, they celebrate the companies and individuals who go above and beyond to support the UK’s growing businesses, and in doing so create jobs, boost economic growth and support innovation.

In true 2020 fashion, the winners in all categories will be announced during a festive virtual event in December. It’s been a tough year and we now find ourselves in another lockdown, so we’ve decided to up the celebratory stakes and are planning something special for the awards ceremony.

Commenting on the 2020 Growth Investor Awards, Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership, said: “There was never any question that the sixth annual Growth Investor Awards wouldn’t take place, because as every finalist can confirm, this year it’s been more important than ever to be able to adapt and keep moving forward.

Guy adds: “Start-up and scale-up businesses are vital assets to the wider economy, but their success would never happen without the knowledge and capital made available through the growth investment community. Investment providers rarely get the recognition they deserve, but the Growth Investment Awards are the one place where they get their well-earned spotlight. I’m really pleased that these awards recognise the contributions of so many different companies.

“We received a record-breaking number of award entries this year, and this is reflected in the broader pool of investment providers competing for each category. I want to congratulate everyone who has reached the finalist stage for their achievement.”

The first set of finalists have been shortlisted across the 15 investment provider categories and growth champion of the year category listed below.

Finalists in the other categories will be announced tomorrow.

Best BR Investment Manager (Listed) – Sponsored by Exact Libris
Celebrates investment managers specialising in AIM investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. Judges will examine the performance of the service over the past 12 months, assessing investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, adviser relations, customer feedback and overall impact.

• Blackfinch Investments
• Octopus Investments
• Puma Investments
• TIME Investments

Best BR Investment Manager (Unlisted) – Sponsored by Exact Libris
Celebrates investment managers specialising in non-AIM investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. Judges will examine the performance of the service over the past 12 months, assessing investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, adviser relations, customer feedback and overall impact.

• Blackfinch Investments
• Foresight Group
• Octopus Investments
• Ingenious
• Puma Investments
• TIME Investments
• Triple Point

Best EIS Investment Manager – Sponsored by Mainspring
Open to any investment manager specialising in Enterprise Investment Schemes. The judges will be looking at the performance of the service over the past 12 months, assessing the success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

• Calculus Capital
• Mercia Asset Management
• MMC Ventures
• Parkwalk Advisors
• Praetura Ventures
• Symvan Capital

Best SEIS Investment Manager
Celebrates investment managers who specialise in Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes. The judges will look at the performance of the finalists’ service over the past 12 months, assessing their success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback and overall impact.

• Ascension Ventures
• Deepbridge Capital
• Jenson Funding Partners LLP
• Nova Growth Capital
• RLC Ventures
• SFC Capital
• Worth Capital

Best VCT Investment Manager
This award goes to an outstanding investment manager specialising in Venture Capital Trusts. The criteria include performance over the past 12 months, the success of the investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, adviser relations, customer feedback and overall impact.

• Calculus Capital
• Foresight Group
• Mobeus Equity Partners
• Octopus Investments
• Puma Investments

Best AIM Portfolio Service
Open to wealth management and stockbroking firms offering discretionary AIM portfolio services, this award is for champions of the AIM market. Judges will discern 12-month performance, portfolio success, investment volume and inflows, customer feedback and overall business impact.

• Blankstone Sington
• Charles Stanley & Co
• Guinness Asset Management
• Sarasin & Partners

Exit of the Year
This award goes to any type of exit strategy implemented since 5th April 2018. The judges will pay attention to the success of an individual exit that demonstrates investment performance against initial strategy and targets, value added to the investee business, customer feedback and overall impact.

• Mercia Asset Management
• MMC Ventures
• Oxford Capital
• Par Equity
• Parkwalk Advisors
• Symvan Capital

Best Investment Platform
This award highlights the stellar investment platform directing capital into growth investment funds, or a stand-out company that matches businesses with investment capital, recognising their performance over the past 12 months as well as user experience, product innovation and business impact.

• Envestors
• GrowthInvest
• Oxford Capital
• QVentures
• SeedLegals
• Wealth Club

Most Impactful Investment – Sponsored by Adempi Associates
Based on an investment made in the past 12 months, the judges will be assessing its impact on the investee business, focusing on how funding has been deployed and how growth has been enabled by the fund manager during the investment term.

• Committed Capital
• Earthworm
• Haatch Ventures
• Parkwalk Advisors
• Vala Capital

Industry Game Changer – Sponsored by MICAP
This award celebrates any individual, company, product or platform provider that has demonstrably changed practice, perception or engagement in the tax-efficient investment industry.

• GrowthInvest
• Nova Growth Capital
• PensionBee
• SeedLegals
• Symvan Capital

Growth Investor of the Year – Sponsored by Beauhurst
The highest accolade for investment providers, this award recognises outstanding managers demonstrating the best investment performance, the best product and service developments, and the best ‘impact beyond investment’ on customers and the wider business community.

• 24Haymarket
• Augmentum Fintech Plc
• Deepbridge Capital
• MMC Ventures
• Par Equity
• Parkwalk Advisors
• Puma Investments

Best New Product or Service
This new award is open to any growth investment provider that has introduced an innovative new product or service to the market in the past 12-24 months. The judges will assess the overall impact of the innovation based on its impact on funding volumes, value for investee companies, challenges overcome, customer feedback, and business growth impact.

• Calculus Capital
• Foresight Group
• Great Point Investments
• Nova Growth Capital
• Parkwalk Advisors
• SuperSeed

Most Valuable Player
Entrants in all award categories are invited to nominate the individual (or team) within their own organisation that they believe has gone ‘above and beyond’ with their efforts to support clients, colleagues or portfolios through this year. The judges will assess the contribution based on supporting evidence provided by the nominee, and on overall impact.

• Asker Fawmy, Finance Director – Vala Capital
• Clarissa McKay, Manager, Private Clients – Oxford Capital
• Deepbridge Customer Service Team – Deepbridge Capital
• Karen Sullivan, Head of Strategic Partnerships – Puma Investments

Industry Rising Star
Open to all new entrants to the investment community. Judges will be looking for a company less than 2 years old that has successfully entered the market, rising to the challenge of sustainable growth, customer experience, employee engagement and corporate social responsibility to emerge as a future star of the industry.

• Haatch Ventures
• Nova Growth Capital
• Vala Capital

Team of the Year
Open to any team working within the growth investment community to deliver exceptional results. Whether your team is dedicated to business development, customer service, marketing, advisory or something completely different, the judges will be looking for the team that has gone above and beyond to support their customers and colleagues while successfully delivering on their projects over the past 12 months.

• Deepbridge Capital
• Octopus Investments
• Praetura Ventures
• Puma Property Finance
• TIME Investments
• Triple Point
• Vala Capital

Growth Champion of the Year
Our highest accolade for investment providers, this award recognises outstanding investment managers demonstrating the best investment performance, the best product and service developments, and the best ‘impact beyond investment’ on customers and the wider business community.

• Moneybox
• Pasta Evangelists
• Cera Care

More information about the selection process and previous winners is available on the Growth Investor Awards’ website: growthinvestorawards.com

About the Growth Investor Awards
Now in their sixth year, the Growth Investor Awards are organised by Intelligent Partnership with industry supporters such as BVCA, Centre for Entrepreneurs, Citigate Dewe Rogerson,, EISA, ScaleUp Institute, The Supper Club, The Entrepreneurs Network, UK Business Angels Association, and UK Crowdfunding. Sponsors include Adempi Associates, Mainspring, Exact Libris and MICAP.