Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Awards 2024 Shortlist Revealed

Gerald Edelman is pleased to announce the shortlist for the second annual Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Awards. An awards ceremony that brings together a network of searchers and entrepreneurs to celebrate their achievements and notable acquisitions over the past year. The awards will take place on Thursday 7 November at Landing Forty Two, London.

Following a rigorous judging process by our panel of industry experts: Bramley Johnson, Search Fund Investor, Alex Glasner, a successful searcher who acquired Workpays in 2021, and Lisa Conmy, Partner at JMW. We are delighted to reveal the finalists this year:

Deal of the Year Self-Funded

1. Acquisition of Greenline Coaches, Assets Loft
2. Acquisition of Set-A-Side Storage, Colmers Capital
3. Acquisition of Mediline Group Services and Mediline Supported Living, Birch Farady Capital

Community Contribution 

1. Paul Quirk, Buy and Build Podcast
2. Mark Dominic, Euston ventures
3. Linh Van Deibel, Acacia Partners

Deal of The Year Traditional – Head to Head

1. Aquisition of Saepio Solutions Ltd, Aurias
2. Acquisition of Garner Osbourne Circuits Ltd, Dean Curran

ESG Excellence –  Head to Head

1. UK Farmcare limited, Backer Capital Limited
2. Acquisition of Set-A-Side Storage, Colmers Capital

Lender of the Year

1. Shawbrook
2. Allica Bank
3. Dunport Capital Management

Carl Lundberg, CEO of Gerald Edelman and Founder of The ETA Awards, commented: “The calibre of entries this year has been exceptional, reflecting the growing sophistication and impact of the ETA sector in the UK. Our shortlisted candidates demonstrated innovation, strategic thinking, and strong leadership.”

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 7 November 2024. The event promises to be a celebration of entrepreneurial spirit and a networking opportunity for the UK’s search community.

Tickets for the awards ceremony are now available. For more information and to secure your place, please visit awards.geraldedelman.com.

We extend our gratitude to our sponsors, including Shawbrook Bank, Marriott Harrison, Ashtons Legal, BizCrunch, JMW, Irwin Mitchell, Altenburg Advisory and Search Fund News, for their continued support in recognising excellence in entrepreneurship through acquisition. Join us in congratulating the finalists and celebrating the future of UK business leadership at the ETA Awards 2024.

About Search Funds

There has been significant growth in the number of new search funds and search fund acquisitions in recent years. In the US and Canada, 94 traditional search funds launched in 2023, which is a record number in a single year and represented a significant increase over previous years (source: Standford Business School: 2024 Search Fund Study). Outside of the US and Canada, the latest available data shows that there were 44 new traditional search funds in 2021 and 23 acquisitions by traditional search funds, both of which were records (IESE Business School – International Search Funds 2022). This trend has continued as more prospective searchers and investors recognise the potential returns and opportunities that search funds can offer.

These investment vehicles allow entrepreneurs to raise capital, acquire an existing business, and then manage and grow it. The surge in search fund activity highlights the UK’s thriving entrepreneurial landscape and business succession opportunities, offering ambitious individuals a unique path to business ownership and value creation through acquisition.