Our Corporate Finance team has been shortlisted for three awards at Insider Media’s East Midlands Dealmakers Awards: the coveted Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year award, Emerging Dealmaker of the Year (Josh Gurton) and Deal of the Year (£10m+) for the management buyout of QEP-UK by Boyce Family Group.

The upcoming dealmakers awards are ‘radically different’ to previous years, with businesses required to submit entry forms in place of the usual application route involving nominations and votes.

Changes have also been made to the judging panel, which this year features seven dealmakers from outside the region rather than dealmakers active within the Midlands, with the aim of ensuring a more objective and ‘ruthless’ judging process.

The most exciting change comes with the announcement that Insider will be holding the first ever UK Dealmakers Awards in February 2025. All winners from the East Midlands awards will go on to represent the region and compete against the country’s most talented dealmakers at this national award ceremony.

News of our shortlist achievements follows a busy and successful year for PKF Corporate Finance, with high levels of deal activity despite a challenging economic and political climate. We ranked the 5th most active dealmaking team in the Midlands and 7th in the UK in Experian’s annual M&A review, and strengthened our formidable team with promotions and new hires.

Darren Hodson, Corporate Finance Partner, commented: “2023 was a challenging year but we managed to complete over £2bn in deals, gaining market share, and we completed a number of transactions that warrant celebrating. It’s great the team have been recognised for this.   

“We have momentum building this year, with a robust pipeline of opportunities. We continue to welcome applications from ambitious individuals for our new manager and senior executive roles.

“Well done again to our team for our shortlist success, it really is a testament to your hard work and commitment to getting high value results for our clients.”