Rainmaker Awards shows strength in depth of the North West corporate finance community

It was an honour to again sponsor the North West Rainmaker Awards, which took place in Manchester last week. It was fantastic to see a room brimming with over 300 guests to celebrate the achievements of the corporate finance community over the past twelve months. I had the opportunity to say a few words and pay tribute to our amazing network of dealmaking professionals in the region.

I highlighted the resilience and ingenuity that the community demonstrated, particularly in Q2 of 2020 - when the UK locked down, it was truly remarkable that we still got nine mid-market private equity deals completed in the region. When the going got tough, the tough sure got going! The second half of 2020?saw a massive uptick in deal volumes as our region’s fantastic professionals adapted to dealmaking in the most exceptional of circumstances?-?and?it’s extraordinary?that by the end of 2020,?the community had completed more mega deals,?large cap and mid-market deals in 2020 than in 2019.?That?upward?trend has continued in 2021, with the 438 transactions completed?from?January to June marking the?fourth largest?half-year?by?volume in the?last decade. That trend has continued through the summer, and it will be very interesting to look back in January '22 at just what's been achieved in the second half of 2021.

Private-equity backed primary and secondary buyouts remain popular exit strategies for business owners, but it's also been a great year for stock market listings. We're averaging a listing every month on the AIM market, with the highlights being Victorian Plumbing (the largest ever AIM IPO by market capitalisation), Revolution Beauty, Music Magpie - with online marketplace Fruugo being the latest business in the region to announce their intentions to list.

Whilst the recovery is in full swing, another piece of good news for the community has been the adaptation of working patterns. Agile?working,?whilst initially enforced,?looks to be here to stay – and whilst the volume of work thankfully shows no signs of abating, hopefully?greater choice?on?when and where?to get that great work done?will enable many members of the community to better balance working life and home life, and keep more great talent in dealmaking in the region.

Our association with an event like the Rainmaker Awards is borne out of my belief that hiring and retaining the right people is fundamental to the successes of the community and the businesses they advise. Whether you're on a?leader?in a big accountancy practice, law firm?or boutique, or you're on a board?looking to realise the value from your business, or you’re an investor looking for returns from fast-growth businesses - arguably the biggest thing stopping you?from growing your team, or doing more deals, or helping you realise the value from your portfolio,?is people.?

Put simply, it's the?quality of people?in your teams and in your businesses that will help?determine how successful you are.?

And?never?has that been truer than?it is?today.?As?the UK faces?a vacancy crisis,?the war for talent rages?in every single type of job.?Strategies to retain and hire the best have?never been more important?– which is where businesses like Michael Page come in.?

We’ve helped?a number of?the winning and shortlisted advisors, investors and businesses by recruiting talented individuals across a variety of areas - from Finance to HR; from Engineering to Technology;?from?Legal to Sales and Marketing. It’s been great to see those individuals go on and make?immediate?and?measurable positive impacts?on your?teams and?organisations, allowing us to play?our?role in your successful journeys.?Because that's what we're passionate about, that's our purpose - Changing People's Lives Through Creating Opportunity To Realise Potential.

My personal highlight was seeing Steve Kingham up on the stage to receive the Public Markets Deal of the Year Award for his role in The Hut Group's ￡1.87billion IPO in August of last year. I first met Steve just over 10 years ago - he'd not long qualified with his dad's accountancy practice as one of the youngest ACA's in the Institute's history (he'd decided against the university route). My meeting notes record a "very impressive guy, supremely driven and clear that he wants to develop a career in corporate finance". We worked together to get him his first role in corporate finance - a Transaction Services Executive with BDO. Fast forward not even a decade and in late 2020 Steve was promoted to Partner at EY. What a privilege to play my part in that incredible career journey. That's what it's all about.

If you're considering a career move or looking to bring talent into your business or team, I'd love to talk. You can always reach me on 07709 449 738.