FRP Corporate Finance scoops four awards at regional deal awards

Friday November 4, 2022

Winners announced at Thames Valley Deal Awards and Central and East Dealmakers Awards

We’re thrilled to announce that FRP Corporate Finance has won four awards at the Insider Central and East Dealmakers Awards and The Business Magazine Thames Valley Deal Awards 2022.

The awards recognise excellence in deal making and at the Central and East Dealmakers Awards, our Norwich team took home Corporate Finance Advisory Firm of the Year, Emerging Dealmaker of the Year for Associate Director Alex Hunton, and Private Equity Deal of the Year for the management buyout of Mr Fothergill’s Seeds.

The team was commended for completing 25 deals in the region, representing the full range of transactions, from sales and acquisitions, private equity investments, management buyouts and employee ownership trusts, as well as international deals. The judges felt that the firm’s significant workload, demanded by the local market, highlighted the breadth of skills and experience of the team and made it the stand-out firm this year.

Alex Hunton was recognised for completing eight deals this year, all in his capacity as lead adviser, and he is fast becoming the go-to adviser for many of his clients. His deal completions across a range of transaction types show the breadth of his experience and the judges felt Alex is proving he is becoming a trusted and knowledgeable adviser by his clients, giving him the edge over the others this year.

Finally, the team was applauded for supporting the management buyout of Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, a leading international horticulture supplier headquartered in Suffolk. The deal saw the exit of Mr Fothergill’s founding shareholders and provided an incentivised growth platform for the senior management team for the continued evolution of the business, including potential business acquisitions in the future. The judges noted the strong valuation and attractive equity structure which enabled a majority value realisation for the exiting shareholders.

These awards were closely followed by the Thames Valley Deal Awards, where our Reading team won Corporate Finance Team of the Year following another successful year of activity. During the 18-month qualifying period, our team played a lead role in 62 deals with an aggregate deal value of £2.5 billion. Many of these transactions involved local businesses, demonstrating the team’s commitment to supporting the growth of companies across the Thames Valley. The judges commented ‘This Finance team [FRP Corporate Finance] stood out from an impressive group of Corporate Finance Teams, in what is always a competitive category, predominantly due to the number of local deals completed. We were also particularly struck by the impressive value and complexity of those deals.’

Commenting on the award win, Darren Miller, Partner at FRP Corporate Finance, said: There have been many challenges to completing deals over the last 18 months. All deals are complicated and anyone who gets them over the line has done a sterling job. We have enjoyed a really good run and are very pleased with our level of success. For some of our sale mandates, we have found that the timing wasn’t always right for buyers who would have been a great fit. With a smaller number of interested parties, we’ve worked hard to deliver great results for our clients. Attention to detail and anticipating potential issues has never been more important.”