The winners of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association’s (EISA) annual awards have been announced and for the first time there was a tie in the Best EIS Manager category, with Parkwalk Advisors and Calculus Capital sharing the honours.
The awards, which were held at a reception in the House of Lords last night, recognise the outstanding investment performance, excellent service and valued contributions to the EIS sector.
The judges said about Parkwalk, which was also named winner in the Best Exit category: “Parkwalk embody the essence of the true principles of EIS. Their work with the UK’s top universities to invest in knowledge-intensive, early-stage technology is quite simply transformational.”
Parkwalk was lauded for its “textbook” exit from a £4m collaboration with Cambridge University spin-out company Cambridge CMOS Sensors. The collaboration generated a return of many times their original investment for early participants, benefiting over 300 EIS investors.
Calculus Capital was singled out, by the judges, for its “unique and exclusive deal flow, detailed due diligence and high level of support to each of its portfolio companies.”
CEO of Calculus Capital John Glencross said: “It’s a great honour to be named Best EIS Manager by the EIS Association for the third year in a row. Winning the award reflects our successful track record of identifying, supporting and helping to develop some of the most promising smaller growing companies in the UK.”
The Best Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) Manager award went to Symvan Capital for the second year running. It was praised for its due diligence, selection process and speed of investment, as well as for its efforts to demonstrate the benefits of its investments in job creation and tax revenues generated, not just returns for investors.
The complete list of winners:
- Best Tax Adviser: Philip Hare & Associates;
- Best Legal/Regulatory Adviser: Bovill;
- Best Innovation/Newcomer/Rising Star (Company): Sapphire;
- Best Newcomer/Rising Star (Individual): Vasiliki Carson.
EISA Director General Mark Brownridge said: “The entries were of an extremely high standard and speak of the excellence that can be found right across our industry, from those making the investments to legal advisers, accountants and those writing about EIS.”
The awards judging panel was made up of:
- Martin Fox – Bulletin Marketing – Managing Director;
- Declan McAndrew CFA – Foster Denovo – Head of Investment Research;
- Lee Moran – Baigre Davies – Chair of the Investment Committee & Head of Research;
- Jenny Tooth – UK Business Angels Association – Chief Executive;
- Philip Salter – The Entrepreneurs Network – Founder;
- Malcolm Snook – MPL Wealth Management – Senior Financial Planning Manager;
- Ewoud Karelse – Tilney – Product Specialist.
