Real Deals Private Equity Awards
Celebrating Excellence in European Private Equity
Thursday 20th April 2023, JW Marriott Grosvenor House London
Headline Sponsor
Finatal
Finatal is the search partner of choice to Private Equity Funds
and their Portfolio companies. We have had sensational success working with private equity investors, their portfolio companies or privately owned businesses looking to exit, to provide the best quality talent.
Our team are experts at identifying candidates that thrive in a
fast-paced, change-driven environment that is the natural mindset of PE.
Our areas of expertise:
- Investment, fundraising and portfolio professionals
- CFOs
- Data & Analytics
- Senior Finance Team
- Interim
Sponsors
Clearwater
As a leading global corporate finance house we’ve built a business based on listening to our clients. Whether advising entrepreneurs, corporates or investors, we have a great track record of originating, managing and delivering clearly defined strategies to help our clients achieve their objectives and long-term goals.
Crosslake Technologies
Crosslake originated in 2010 to become the world’s most relevant firm for technology investors and management teams looking to buy, build and run technology that creates value. Our unmatched practitioner community of former CTOs, CIOs, architects and engineers guides actionable, business-focused technology decisions – underscored by objective TechIndicators® from our proprietary dataset of 4,000+ prior tech M&A transactions. In-house delivery teams bring strategic value creation initiatives to life, with Build solutions for bespoke software and technology to enable business transformation, and Cyber solutions to address security weaknesses and risks in software and code quality. It’s clear why Crosslake is the firm investors rely upon to make technology make a difference.
Investec
At Investec, our clients’ aspirations really matter. We are an international banking and wealth management business with a refreshingly human approach. We work with growth-orientated companies, institutions and private equity funds offering financial solutions and expert advice that aim to meet – and exceed – expectations. We offer private equity funds, their management teams and portfolio businesses tailored solutions throughout every step of their lifecycle. Our full suite of services includes; Fund Solutions, Growth & Leveraged Finance, Advisory, Risk Solutions, Private Banking and Wealth Management.
SMBC
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is a core member of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), a Tokyo-based bank holding company that is ranked among the largest banks globally by assets under management.
The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Division is an integral part of SMBC Group’s Global Business Unit. Having first established an office in London over a century ago, SMBC has steadily grown its footprint across the region, and today has a network of over 30 offices in 20 cities, consisting of branches, representative offices and subsidiaries.
SMBC Bank International (registered in the UK) and SMBC Bank EU AG (registered in Germany) are wholly owned subsidiaries of SMBC and are responsible for the management and control of much of the Group’s activities across EMEA. Through its combined entities, the EMEA Division delivers a universal banking platform and a full suite of corporate finance solutions to its customers. SMBC’s Corporate and Investment Banking platform offers a broad range of wholesale banking products and services in corporate, structured and trade finance, leveraged finance, loan capital markets, treasury, and asset financing and leasing.
In addition, it provides investment banking and advisory services and a range of innovative solutions in global capital markets.
VIP Supporters
Addleshw Goddard
Each year, over 2,500 leading companies and finance players around the world trust us to deliver. We help them in multiple industries and in over 100 countries. Not just once, but again and again. Many of our 48 FTSE100 clients have been with us for more than 20 years: one for 150.
Tomorrow’s problems won’t be solved with yesterday’s answers. And, we believe that good business demands good legal advice. Which, ultimately, comes down to just four words. Yes. No. Stop. Go. Assuming you’d value that clarity, imagination and impact, we’d be delighted to talk business. Your business.
Alpha
We are Alpha – a leading provider of currency management and account solutions to the alternative investment space. In an industry that typically works with thousands of different organisations, our dedicated team specialise in providing solutions that make a substantial and enduring difference to private equity companies. Today we are a £850m+ company listed on the London Stock Exchange and are privileged to be supported by some of the world’s most respected clients and investors. You can read more about them on our website.
A&M
We are the consulting firm known for asking tough questions, listening well, digging in and rolling up our sleeves. A global top ranked consulting firm by Vault recognized for challenging work, we are fact-driven and action-oriented. We move our clients forward, to where they need to be. We are A&M.
DCA
We are an international investment bank committed to making a difference.
We recognize that every client and every transaction is unique.
We believe in delivering The Right Advice™ in every situation.
Our mission is to make a difference - for our clients, to our people, and to the market.
We are committed to providing the Right Advice™ in the right way - with integrity, honesty and respect.
Diana
We invest in companies with strong growth and value creation potential, actively engaging with business owners and management teams. Our contribution focuses on assisting businesses with growth potential that occasionally require to adjust several aspects of their strategy and operations at an extremely rapid pace. On those occasions, our operational and financial expertise could be invaluable.We are closely involved in formulating the growth strategy. In many instances, we assist in generating domestic and international add-on acquisition ideas that complement the company’s business, capitalizing on our network of relationships to identify acquisition candidates and facilitate a transaction. Some of our main areas of contribution with regard to strategic initiatives are:
- Identifying, reviewing, valuing and negotiating domestic and international add-on acquisitions to accelerate growth
- Identifying product and geographic areas for new business
- Setting ambitious organic growth targets
- Augmenting network of commercial contacts and initiating divestments of non-core assets to refocus on growth areas.
Ergon
We are a mid-market private equity partner to families, entrepreneurs and management teams, helping them reach their goals and ambitions through a long-term industrial approach. To achieve this, we put at our portfolio companies’ disposal our local teams across Continental Europe, our Advisory Committee which has >300 years of combined experience and a vast industrial and financial network.
Having successfully managed 5 investment programs and raised >€3.0 billion from institutional investors and families, we are proud to have maintained the same family, industrial and patrimonial values.
GHO
GHO Capital partners with exceptional leadership teams to build leading global healthcare companies on a mission to deliver Better, Faster and More Accessible Healthcare™.
We believe in the value of sector specialism to understand complex areas of healthcare and generate successful investment outcomes. Embedded industrial expertise, an unrivalled network of trusted relationships and thematic approach means that we bring more than just capital to our portfolio.
We focus on alignment and collaboration, unlocking potential to transform businesses through growing their operational capability and capacity. Understanding the importance of footprint, we build global businesses of unique strategic appeal with differentiated go-to-market propositions.
We invest in quality and we invest responsibly. Reputation for quality drives success in healthcare and we believe in generating long-term sustainable value for all of our stakeholders through purpose driven, responsible investment.
Our team brings a unique fusion of operating, investing and transacting experience. We foster opportunity for our team, our network and our portfolio to create a diverse healthcare ecosystem that shares in success.
HL
Houlihan Lokey is the trusted advisor to more top decision-makers than any other independent global investment bank. We help our clients achieve superior outcomes by providing thoughtful, caring advice while acting with honour and integrity. We are strategic in our approach to growth and are committed to creating lasting value for our shareholders.
Mayer Brown
Mayer Brown is a distinctively global law firm, uniquely positioned to advise the world’s leading companies and financial institutions on their most complex deals and disputes.
With extensive reach across four continents, we are the only integrated law firm in the world with approximately 200 lawyers in each of the world’s three largest financial centers—New York, London and Hong Kong—the backbone of the global economy.
Montagu
Montagu has been investing and learning for more than 50 years.
We are a performance-driven organisation committed to driving growth in partnership with management teams.
We invest in highly resilient assets with a must-have product or service in structurally growing marketplaces.
Ufenau Capital Partners
Ufenau is a privately-owned Swiss Investor Group which advises private and institutional investors on their investments in private equity. Ufenau focuses on investments in service companies in German-speaking Europe, Iberia and the Benelux region and invests in Education & Lifestyle, Business Services, Healthcare, IT Services and Financial Services sectors. Since 2011, Ufenau invested in over 300 companies. Through a renowned group of experienced Industry Partners (owners, CEOs, CFOs), Ufenau has an active value-adding investment approach at eye-level with entrepreneurs and managers. Ufenau raised its seventh flagship fund with a volume of EUR 1.0bn and advises capital of EUR 2.5bn.
Zetland
Zetland focuses on mid-market special situations and deep value opportunities across Europe. We strategically invest across multiple industries, security types and asset classes, pursuing an investment approach that integrates closely with management teams and operating partners, to drive growth and value at every stage.
Our style is very hands-on and collaborative, delivering operational transformation via a wide-ranging toolkit of solutions including growth capex, financial restructurings, and strategic realignment.
We act as stewards of capital for our investors, who are seeking an all-weather, all-cycle strategy. Our investment approach offers downside protection, whilst delivering upside returns and access to opportunities that create value where others may have overlooked.
Data partner
Deal Edge
DealEdge is a powerful, intuitive digital advisory product that gives private equity investors unprecedented insight into which deals have the most potential and where hidden opportunities exist to create value.
DealEdge gives investment professionals an unbeatable combination: Bain & Company’s industry-leading due diligence consulting expertise applied to CEPRES’ unrivaled private equity transaction data.
Its simple dashboard interface puts detailed investment analysis based on over 40,000 buyout, growth and infrastructure transactions at your fingertips.
Charity Partner
MDNA
MND is the short term for motor neurone disease, which affects the nerves known as motor neurones. These nerves are found in the brain and spinal cord and they help tell your muscles what to do. If you have MND, this means your movement will be affected and you are likely to get a wide range of symptoms. Select from the following for basic facts about the disease.
Social Enterprise Partner
TERN
TERN (The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network C.I.C.) is a social enterprise and nonprofit, registered as a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee in the United Kingdom.
Our Mission: To enable refugees to thrive through the power of their own ideas.
The 22nd annual Real Deals Private Equity Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious private equity awards in Europe. This year’s ceremony took place on Thursday 20 April 2023 in London.
Miles Jupp, actor, writer and comedian, hosted the awards gala in-person, where he handed out 39 well-deserved trophies, recognising the best in European private equity.
- 13 Advisory Awards
- 8 Deal of the Year Awards
- 6 Houses of the Year Awards
- 8 Special Awards
- 4 Venture Capital/Growth Awards




“The Private Equity Awards are highly regarded in the industry and we feel privileged to have been recognised as Bank Lender of the Year for the second year running. The awards evening is a great opportunity to connect with customers, partners, advisors and colleagues to share ideas and build new connections.” Andy Oates, Head of Corporate, West Midlands, HSBC UK