Fiona Haran, deputy editor of Yorkshire Business Insider, reports from the Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards 2024 at New Dock Hall at the Royal Armouries, Leeds. The primary event on the corporate finance calendar, Dealmakers celebrates the top transactions, teams and individuals of the year.
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00:00Hi everyone, I'm Fiona Harring, I'm the Deputy Editor of Yorkshire Business Insider and I'm
00:15here at New Dock Hall at the Royal Armouries in Leeds for the Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards,
00:19the biggest event on the corporate finance calendar. We're here to celebrate the top
00:24transactions, teams and individuals of the year. We've got 13 award categories tonight
00:30and here are the thoughts of some of the judges, the sponsors and the winners themselves to
00:35capture some of the highlights of the evening. Hi Josie, so here we are at the Yorkshire
00:40Dealmakers Awards and as one of the judges this year, what did you make of the quality
00:44of the entries we got in? Yeah, I mean it's just always surprising kind of how high the
00:49quality of entries is in reality and what was really nice to see was sort of firms,
00:57multiple firms putting forward some of the same deals and actually kind of collaborating
01:06and seeing that kind of collaboration across the region, which sort of gives you so much
01:10more support in terms of understanding the deals and what's there. And when it came to
01:14choosing the overall winners, be it deal, team, individual, what criteria was important to you,
01:21whether it be overcoming complexity or regional impact for instance? Yeah, so there's a few
01:27things that came through and were sort of interesting this year and I think both me
01:30and as a panel, we did try to focus on I guess the regional piece and being regional advisors,
01:38which is kind of massively important in terms of that it is the regional dealmakers. But also I
01:44think this year what people have brought out in terms of ESG impact and some of the, I guess some
01:53of the emerging sectors, so very much supporting kind of ongoing sectors such as manufacturing,
01:59but starting to see some of that tech and investment into the region as well in emerging
02:04sectors. So yeah, some really kind of nice encouraging trends. Hi Ben, so FinCats is a
02:11regular supporter of dealmakers, what do you like about this event? It's the one opportunity in the
02:17year where you get everybody in the same place and you get to recognise the achievements of others
02:22and hopefully get some recognition for your own efforts for the past 12 months. And it's been
02:27another great year for FinCats, hasn't it? Continued to support regional businesses. Can
02:33you tell us about your activity over the last 12 months? Well we've recently been announced by
02:37Experian as the number one M&A debt funder in the UK. Yorkshire is one of our key markets and
02:44outside London one of our biggest. It's been a hugely successful period for us, especially with
02:50the recent budget. Of course, and on that subject, what impact do you think that might have on M&A,
02:55the autumn budget? The immediate effect of the budget was just before it, where there was a
03:01flurry of activity. As the dust has settled, the M&A activity is steady and is growing and I don't
03:08think the announcements are going to have a profound impact on M&A in the short term. Hi Richard, so our Buffpot commercial, ABL, is a regular supporter of dealmakers. Why do you think these awards are so valuable for the industry? I think it's always
03:25important to bring people together. I think Yorkshire is a very supportive marketplace and it's actually
03:31really exciting to see what everybody is doing and who is being successful and actually support that as a region.
03:37Yeah, and why do you think, what it is about Yorkshire's corporate finance market in particular that makes it so special, so successful? That's a really hard question to answer. I've been in the Yorkshire marketplace now for over 25 years and that probably tells its own story. I love it here because everybody's actually competitive but also cooperative. I've not met a single person I didn't like, didn't get on with,
04:01and wasn't incredibly professional in what they do. Hi Ben, many congratulations, Park Place Corporate Finance, Corporate Finance Advisory Firm of the Year. How does it feel to win tonight? Yeah, it's been a great feeling. We've had a really busy, successful year and it's great to be recognised by your peers and it's great for the partners, particularly for our team who've worked incredibly hard this year and done an amazing job.
04:26Yeah, how would you sum up that performance over the last 12 months? Because you've worked on some pretty impressive deals.
04:32We have and it's a sign, I think, of just the reputation that the firm has within the community and the long-term relationships we build with clients. You know, there's a number of those deals that are repeat clients that have come back to us having worked with us previously. I think particularly of Adler & Allen where, you know, one of the most high-profile deals in the region and we worked with the management team at Adler & Allen on their last deal and again on this deal and it's, I'd say, just recognition.
04:55Yeah, and finally, what are your hopes and expectations for the M&A market going into 2025? Are you quite hopeful despite the continuing market challenges?
05:07Yes, the market does have some challenges but I think overall we're still on a kind of an upward trend as a marketplace. I think there's lots of good businesses out there that will be coming to market in the next 12 months and lots of good opportunities for the advisory community.
05:23Hi Eunice, congratulations on your award tonight, Lifetime Achievement Award. How does it feel to be recognised tonight?
05:31Well, the first thing I'd say, Lifetime Achievement makes it sound like I'm not doing anything more and I'm going to do a lot more going forward. It feels great because it's essentially an accolade from my peers and it feels like it's recognition of stuff that I've done for so long.
05:48And you've worked on so many high profile deals during your career. Any highlights?
05:53Hard to pick out one highlight after doing all those deals and I'm going to be really predictable here. I think the real highlight is always going to be people, whether it's the talented people that have endured working for me or the clients who trusted me and then haggled on their fees.
06:12And then most importantly, my mentors, those who've shaped me. The great, late Tim Weldon was such a great guy who taught me everything I know and so I am nothing but standing on the shoulders of giants.
06:27Oh, lovely. And given that there are people starting out in the industry, you've got a lot of talent coming through, what advice would you offer the younger generation based on your experiences?
06:37Well, my advice would be a bit like I said on the stage, because I think those are the three things that make Yorkshire great. And there are relationships, entrepreneurial flair and keeping it real. By which I mean, we've all got to ensure that we develop trusted, deep relationships with each other and with clients.
06:56We need to be bold. We need to take risks. And then the third bit is we're Yorkshire and so we do need to say how it is and get stuff done. That's what makes us different.