EIS Association (EISA) Director General Mark Brownridge has been crowned 2017 Industry Champion at the third annual Growth Investor Awards.
The award was given for outstanding efforts to champion growth capital and tax-efficient investment in the UK.
The award ceremony took place at the Royal Lancaster in London where 450 leading decision makers from the UK’s SME investment ecosystem gathered.
The annual Growth Investor Awards is organised by Intelligent Partnership.
Mark Brownridge was picked by the Growth Investor Awards Advisory Board as Industry Champion for 2017, recognising an eminent individual who has championed venture capital schemes to make them more visible and accessible to financial advisers and investors. Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director at Intelligent Partnership, presented the award.
The Advisory Board commended Brownridge’s active role in the media and introduction of new guides and educational initiatives, and his tireless efforts to raise EISA’s profile and awareness of the Enterprise Investment Scheme more generally continue to be invaluable in supporting the scale-up businesses through highly beneficial SEIS and EIS funding.
Tolhurst said: “With 20 years of financial services experience, Mark has distinguished himself as one of the Enterprise Investment Scheme’s premier supporters. He became Director General of the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association in August 2016, building on ten years of strong advocacy in a financial planning context at Mazars, where he rose to become Head of Research and Development. “
Brownridge added: “It’s a real honour to be named Industry Champion in the Growth Investor Awards 2017.
“I’m proud of the amazing work EISA has done in recent years in supporting the small business ecosystem and in particular facilitating the smooth flow of capital from private investors to small companies.
“Right now, we as an industry are faced with challenges and a shot across our boughs in the guise of the Advance Assurance system and Patient Capital Review and we will find out in the budget on 22nd November what the future holds for EIS and SEIS. But whatever happens, I firmly believe that if we can refocus on small companies, put them at the centre of everything we do and become better at telling their story, we need have no fears and EIS and SEIS will continue to adapt, grow and flourish.”
Margot James MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commented: “It is events like these – where the business community comes together to both reward and recognise laudable achievements – that instil in us all a great sense of pride in the UK. We are working hard to support businesses and entrepreneurs across the UK to ensure they can access the finance and wider support to grow and have the right conditions for companies to invest in the long term. Events like the Growth Investor Awards do a great service to that end. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone who received an award and hope this serves as inspiration to others to start and build their own businesses.”
