Aon, CIL, Deloitte and GK Strategy win private equity award

Unquote, a platform for Europe’s private equity landscape, has unveiled the winners of its British Private Equity Awards. 

Now in its consecutive fifteenth year, the British Private Equity Awards recognises excellence in UK’s private equity industry. The competition provides awards to a range of mid-market deals, including fundraising transactions, buyouts and exits, lauding the companies involved and their strategic, financial and legal advisors. 

A total of 20 awards were handed out, with four of them going to professional services firms. CIL Management Consultants, a management consultancy with offices in the UK and the US, won the Commercial Due Diligence Provider prize, while GK Strategy, an advisory and communications consultancy, was named Specialist Due Diligence Provider of the Year.

The mergers & acquisitions team of Aon was named M&A Insurance Broker of the year, and the Debt Advisory team of Big Four giant Deloitte scooped the Debt Adviser award.

Other winners include the likes of Eversheds Sutherland (Law Firm of the year), GCA Altium (Corporate Finance Firm of the year), HSBC (Bank Lender of the year) and private equity firms Inflexion Private Equity Partners and Synova Capital. The winners were determined by an independent judging panel combined with the views of Unquote readers, most of whom are senior professionals in the private equity space. 

The awards come at a time of strong growth for the private equity industry. According to an analysis by PwC, Europe’s private equity market reached its highest level in a decade last year, on the back of continued low interest rates fuelling investment scenarios, record levels of dry power and a disruptive business environment which is driving corporate venturing. Another study, from McKinsey & Company, found that combined, private equity firms globally now have over $3 trillion in assets under management.