Finalists 2023

in partnership with

INVESTMENT PROVIDERS & OFFERS

BEST AIM PORTFOLIO SERVICE 

Sponsored by MICAP

Open to wealth management and stockbroking firms offering discretionary AIM portfolio investment management services. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service over the last financial year, assessing your success across investee selection, portfolio performance, investment volume and inflows, efforts to champion the AIM market, customer feedback, and overall business impact.

Finalists: 

  • Charles Stanley
  • Close Brothers Asset Management
  • Hawksmoor Investment Management


BEST BR INVESTMENT MANAGER – LISTED

Open to any investment manager specialising in AIM investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Blackfinch
  • Charles Stanley
  • Close Brothers Asset Management
  • Downing 
  • Puma Investments
  • TIME Investments


BEST BR INVESTMENT MANAGER – UNLISTED

Open to any investment manager specialising in non AIM based investments qualifying for Business Property Relief. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across investee selection, investment volume and performance, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists:

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


BEST EIS INVESTMENT MANAGER

Sponsored by Mills&Reeve

Open to any investment manager specialising in Enterprise Investment Schemes which has had a minimum of 3 EIS exits at or above par and has an AUM above £50 million. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Ascension
  • Deepbridge
  • Guinness Ventures
  • Mercia Asset Management
  • Par Equity 
  • Parkwalk Advisors
  • Seneca Partners

BEST EIS INVESTMENT MANAGER – NEW ENTRANT

Open to any investment manager specialising in Enterprise Investment Schemes that has entered the market since 6th April 2020. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since that date, assessing any innovation in your strategy, your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Octopus Investments
  • One Planet Capital


BEST EIS INVESTMENT MANAGER – SPECIALIST

Open to any investment manager specialising in Enterprise Investment Schemes with a specialist focus on a particular area of underlying investments. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Deepbridge Capital – Life Sciences
  • o2h Ventures
  • One Planet Capital
  • Seneca Partners
  • Symvan Capital
  • Vala Capital


BEST EIS INVESTMENT MANAGER – UP AND COMING

Open to any investment manager specialising in Enterprise Investment Schemes which has not had sufficient exits to meet the criteria for our Best EIS Investment Manager category. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Blackfinch
  • Haatch 
  • Love Ventures
  • Praetura Investments
  • Symvan Capital
  • Vala Capital


BEST INVESTMENT PLATFORM

Recognising any type of investment platform, including angel networks and crowdfunding platforms. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across volume of investment, user experience, product innovation, and business impact.

Finalists: 

  • GrowthInvest 
  • Wealth Club 


BEST SEIS INVESTMENT MANAGER

Open to any investment manager specialising in Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Fuel Ventures
  • Haatch 
  • QVentures
  • SFC Capital
  • Symvan Capital


BEST VCT INVESTMENT MANAGER

Sponsored by Defaqto

Open to any investment manager specialising in investments qualifying for Venture Capital Trusts. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across investee company selection, investment volume and inflows, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Albion Capital
  • Foresight Group 
  • Mercia Asset Management 
  • Mobeus VCTs, Gresham House Asset Management
  • Octopus Investments
  • Puma Investments
  • Seneca Growth Capital VCT


EMERGING BR INVESTMENT MANAGER – UNLISTED

Open to any investment manager specialising in non AIM based investments qualifying for Business Property Relief with AUM of up to £100 million on 6th April 2023. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across investee selection, investment volume and performance, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Deepbridge Estate Planning Service
  • Great Point
  • Praetura Investments 
  • Par Equity
  • Seneca Partners
  • Zenzic Capital

 

INNOVATION & EXCELLENCE

 

BEST INVESTOR RETURN

Entries are welcomed for any type of investor financial return achieved since 6th April 2022. The judges will be assessing your success in a case study that specifically highlights outstanding investment performance.

Finalists: 

  • Foresight Group 
  • Fuel Ventures
  • Vala Capital


BEST NEW PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Sponsored by Mainspring Fund Services

Open to any growth investment provider that has introduced an innovative new product or service to the market since 6th April 2020. The judges will assess the overall impact of the innovation based on its effect on funding volumes, value for investee companies, challenges overcome, customer feedback, and business impact.

Finalists:

  • Guinness Ventures
  • River Capital
  • Seneca Partners


EXIT OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Beauhurst

Entries are welcomed for any type of exit strategy implemented since 6th April 2022. The judges will be assessing your success in a case study that highlights investment performance against initial strategy and targets, value added to the investee business, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Augmentum
  • Foresight Group 
  • Gresham House Ventures 
  • Mercia Asset Management

 

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Open to any team within your organisation working in 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 whilst successfully delivering on their projects since 6th April 2022.

Finalists: 

  • Albion Capital
  • Blackfinch
  • Gresham House Ventures 
  • One Planet Capital
  • Praetura Investments
  • TIME Investments

GROWTH INVESTOR 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.

Finalists: 

  • ACF Investors
  • Albion Capital 
  • Foresight Group 
  • Gresham House Ventures 
  • MMC Ventures
  • Seneca Partners

FINANCIAL ADVISER OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Fintel

Open to individual financial advisers who support clients to engage with and benefit from the growth investment industry. The judges will assess performance based on overall impact, including education and advisory services, applying expertise that adds value, promoting compliance and tax-efficiency, overcoming challenges, customer feedback, and business impact.

Finalists: 

To be announced on the night of the Awards.

WEALTH MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Recognising wealth management companies that actively promote alternative investments. The judges will assess performance since 6th April 2022 based on overall impact, including education and advisory services, applying expertise that adds value, overcoming challenges, customer feedback, and business impact.

Finalists: 

To be announced on the night of the Awards.

 

IMPACT & SUSTAINABILITY 

ESG CHAMPION OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by British Business Bank 

Open to entrants in all award categories that have placed a particular focus on ESG in their service or offering. The judges will assess certifications, transparency and disclosure, independent ratings, best practice, the sustainability of outcomes, delivery of ESG commitments and embedding ESG into company culture.

Finalists: 

  • Ascension
  • Downing 
  • Foresight Group 
  • Par Equity
  • Triple Point 
  • Volution

 

MOST IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT

 Based on an investment made since 6th April 2022, the judges will be assessing the impact of the investment 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.

Finalists:

  • Committed Capital for Konsileo 
  • EMV Capital
  • Hambro Perks
  • Oxa for Parkwalk Advisors

 

MOST IMPACTFUL REGIONAL INVESTMENT

 Based on an investment made since 6th April 2022, the judges will be assessing the impact of the investment on the investee business and the region in which the investee business is based, focusing on how funding has been deployed and how growth has been enabled by the fund manager during the investment term.

Finalists:

  • Foresight Group 
  • Deepbridge for GenoMe Diagnostics 
  • Deepbridge for Microplate DX 
  • Par Equity
  • Praetura Investments

 

VENTURE CAPITAL

EMERGING VC OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Mountside Ventures

Open to Emerging VCs who have raised their first or second funds. The judges will be looking at your impact on your portfolio companies, your reputation in the market, your approach and case studies.

Finalists: 

  • Block Dojo
  • Science Creates
  • Superseed
  • Sure Valley Ventures
  • Volution

REGIONAL VC OF THE YEAR

Open to any investment manager specialising in Venture Capital, with focus on regional investments. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists:

  • Deepbridge
  • Mercia Asset Management
  • Par Equity
  • Praetura Investments

VC OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by Adempi

Open to any investment manager specialising in Venture Capital. The judges will be looking at the performance of your service since 6th April 2022, assessing your success across business performance, investment inflows, impact on the investee, adviser relations, customer feedback, and overall impact.

Finalists: 

  • Augmentum
  • MMC
  • Notion Capital
  • Pi Labs

Accolades will be announced on the night of the awards ceremony on 23 November at the London Hilton, Park Lane.

Secure your table below:

BOOK YOUR TABLE

2023 FINALISTS