- Investment providers have been recognised as finalists in the 2019 Growth Investor Awards
- These stand-out companies channel investment capital into growing businesses up and down the country
30 July 2019 — The first batch of finalists has been announced today in the 2019 Growth Investor Awards, celebrating the investment providers whose capital fuels growing SMEs.
Now in their fifth year, the Growth Investor Awards are a landmark event in the investment and SME landscapes. With the support of investors, businesses, and government and industry bodies, they celebrate the people and companies who support the UK’s growing businesses with equity investment.
These awards shine a spotlight on the providers who have an impact beyond investment: creating jobs, boosting economic growth, and supporting innovation. Their investment inspires optimism into companies up and down the UK. And it is fanning an entrepreneurial spark that has made the UK a leading producer of growth companies in recent years.
This year’s event happens to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), which is one of the longest-running tax-incentive investment schemes in the world. EIS has helped over 27,000 companies start-up and scale-up since its foundation, and is one of many such initiatives celebrated in the Awards.
“Start-up and scale-up businesses are vital assets to the wider economy. By helping SMEs to flourish, the growth investment community has a crucial role to play. I launched the Growth Investor Awards five years ago in order to celebrate the crucial role that investment plays in helping the country’s ambitious businesses to grow,” says Guy Tolhurst, the Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership, the company behind the awards.
“Since then we have flown the banner for investment providers by celebrating stand-out performers in a highly competitive field. To reach the finalist stage of the awards in such a stand-out set of entrants is an impressive achievement,” adds Tolhurst.
The winner of these awards will be announced at an exclusive black-tie dinner hosted for over 450 guests on 6 November at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London.
The first finalists have been shortlisted across the 12 categories listed below, in the first of four announcements this week.
Best BR Investment Manager – Listed
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
Blankstone Sington
Puma Investments
Reyker
Thorntons Investments
TIME Investments
Best BR Investment Manager – Unlisted
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
Puma Investments
TIME Investments
Triple Point
Best EIS Investment Manager
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
Deepbridge Capital
Force Over Mass Capital
Guinness Asset Management
Mercia Asset Management
MMC Ventures
Parkwalk Advisors
Symvan Capital
Best SEIS Investment Manager – Sponsored by Aston Lark
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.
Deepbridge Capital
Jenson Funding Partners LLP
RLC Ventures
Sapphire Capital Partners
Startup Funding Club
Symvan Capital
Velocity Capital Advisors
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.
Albion Capital
Beringea
Calculus Capital
Maven Capital Partners
NVM Private Equity
Octopus Investments
Best AIM Portfolio Service – Sponsored by Crowe UK LLP
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.
Guinness Asset Management
Hawksmoor Investment Management
Progeny Asset management
Thorntons Investments
Exit of the Year – Sponsored by RW Blears Solicitors
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.
Beringea
Jenson Funding Partners
Maven Capital Partners
Mercia Asset Management
Parkwalk Advisors
Best Investment Platform – Funds
This award highlights a stellar investment platform directing capital into growth investment funds, recognising their performance over the past 12 months as well as user experience, product innovation and business impact.
GrowthInvest
Kuber Ventures
Wealth Club Limited
Best Investment Platform – Companies
The winner of this accolade will be 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.
24Haymarket
Astia
Crowdcube
Envestors
Funderbeam
Growthdeck
Q Ventures
Seedrs
Most Impactful Investment – Sponsored by Bates Wells Braithwaite Compliance
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.
Amberside Capital (Sterling Suffolk Ltd)
Deepbridge Capital (Afin Technologies Limited)
Growthdeck (CFP Composites)
Maven Capital Partners (CMS Window Systems)
Puma Private Equity (Dymag Group Limited)
Vala Capital (Arksen)
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.
Forward Partners
Grant Thornton
GrowthInvest
SeedLegals
Seedrs
Vala Capital
We Are Nova
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.
Albion Capital
Augmentum Fintech plc
Beringea
Calculus Capital
Crowdcube
Deepbridge Capital
Foresight Group
Mercia Asset Management
MMC Ventures
Parkwalk Advisors
ABOUT THE GROWTH INVESTOR AWARDS
All the finalists announced this week will now go on to a final round of judging by an independent panel drawn from the alternative investment industry and wider business community.
All of the judges’ scores will be collated to determine a winner and runners-up in each category. Every finalist receives personalised feedback and a benchmarking report, providing them with valuable insight on areas of improvement.
The Growth Investor Awards is guided by an Advisory Board that ensures its criteria recognise best practice and the awards reflect key industry trends and developments. The Board includes:
- Claire Cockerton – Founder, Innovative Finance
- Sherry Coutu CBE – Angel Investor, Entrepreneur & Non-executive Director, London Stock Exchange
- Simon Deconshire OBE – Entrepreneur in Residence, UK Government
- Luke Johnson – Chairman, Risk Capital Partners
- Emma Jones MBE – CEO, Enterprise Nation
- Mike Harris – Founding CEO, Egg & First Direct
- Tim Hames – Director General, BVCA
- Michael Hayman MBE – CEO, Seven Hills
Information about previous award winners, judges and selection criteria for each award can be found at growthinvestorawards.com