Business editor Phil Cunliffe reports from the Insider Central & East Dealmakers Awards at the Doubletree by Hilton, Milton Keynes. There was a record turnout for the event tho celebtrate the success and achievements of the leading professionals from firms, bank and PE houses from across the region.
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00:00Well, good evening. Here we are at the magnificent MK Don Stadium in Milton Keynes for tonight's
00:17Central and East Dealmakers Awards. It's a fantastic night of celebration. We're really
00:23looking forward to it. We've got people, we've got a full house tonight, all looking forward
00:27to hearing who's won the individual and deal awards tonight. We've got people from across
00:34the region, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich, and across Essex as well, so representing
00:40the whole of the region. So we're looking forward to a great night. Welcome to it.
00:44So, Philip, good evening to you. One of the Central and East Dealmakers Awards. You're
00:50our past Dealmaker of the Year. Why are these awards so important to you and why are PEM
00:55sponsoring tonight?
00:57So, the awards are really important for me because we need an opportunity during the
01:02year to hold and reflect and celebrate. Celebrating the fantastic teams that represented across
01:08the patch. And let's be clear, the Central and East Dealmakers patch couldn't be patched
01:12here in Westleigh, Milton Keynes. It's Eastleigh, Ipswich, right? So there's a lot of good activity
01:17that's happening within the patch and we want to make sure it's recognised and acknowledged
01:22and celebrated. And so from a PEM perspective, we wanted to meet the audience and ask them
01:27to participate. We want our voices to contribute as well to the celebration, Moses. And yeah,
01:33great.
01:34And it's been another great year for PEM.
01:36Yeah, it has been. We had a record year of free call-ups. We closed a record number of
01:42deals across the year. And so, you know, we went into the year thinking, frankly, the
01:47interest rate and the inflationary rate in Ireland might lend itself to transactional
01:51activity, but actually we've experienced the contrary. So again, it's great that we're
01:55here to showcase that, but also celebrate other activities and other students as well.
02:00This event's really important to Mercer and Hull and the region generally because it's
02:05an opportunity for people in the same line of work, same community to get together, to
02:11talk about their experiences, but most importantly, the awards are a chance to showcase all of
02:17the great skills that all of these people bring to the party. I'm really looking forward
02:22to seeing the entries and wish everyone the best of luck. Cheers.
02:26So you're with the Grant Thornton team who have just won the Corporate Finance Advisory
02:31Fab of the Year. Congratulations, guys. What does it mean to win?
02:35I think it's just great recognition of the great work the team has done all year.
02:40And what's the highlight deal of the year for you this year?
02:44It's been a lot. What we got here was a fair amount of G8 Cents based in various different
02:49countries to Swedish listed industry. It's a pretty good cross-border deal. It's a great
02:53local manufacturing business. We genuinely like it.
02:56And looking forward to a good 2025?
02:58Absolutely.
02:59Yeah, good. Congratulations, guys. Well done. Have a great night.
03:02Thank you very much.
03:03Cheers.
03:04So I'm with Phil Sharp and Elinor Lothian of Bryce Bailey. Phil, you're the Dealmaker
03:13of the Year. Fantastic. And you're Emerging Dealmaker of the Year. How does it feel to
03:18have won that award?
03:19Very unexpected, actually. It's a tough thing for the shortlisting, so I'm very pleased
03:24to have been able to participate in it.
03:27Fantastic. And Phil, obviously, Dealmaker of the Year, that's a proud moment for you.
03:32You've been shortlisted a number of times, but how does it feel to have won the big prize
03:38tonight?
03:39Phil, I can't believe it. I'm absolutely stunned, to be honest, and very proud to have
03:43won it. I've been part of the deal-strangling team in East Anglia for 20-odd years, and
03:50so to actually get an award eventually is fantastic.
03:54Yeah.
03:55And for Bryce Bailey, as a firm, you also won Transaction Service of the Year.
03:59How does it feel to win this award?
04:05Yeah, I mean, the team has been growing over the last three or four years, and it's changed
04:10a lot, actually. As a firm, we've really grown, and the team has grown, and it changes a lot
04:16of the deals we're doing are bigger, more interesting, more exciting. And I think the
04:23award this evening, for all of us, is a reflection of the direction of travel, hopefully, for
04:29Bryce Bailey.
04:30Yeah. And then 2025, looking exciting, good pipeline of deals along the way?
04:36Yes.
04:37Fantastic.
04:38It's always like that for me. I think it's just great for my daughter, too, because it's
04:42one of my goals to be able to use experience to help people find success.
04:53Yeah.