Venture capital has 'weathered the storm,' awards show

Investor AllStars 2009 recently named the winners of its awards to recognise excellence in the world of venture capital. Winners in the twelve categories were revealed at an awards ceremony and dinner in London last week.

The event, now in its seventh year, was organised jointly by GP Bullhound, a research-centric investment bank specialising in technology, media and telecommunications, and by Vitesse Media, a multi-platform media business that specialises in growth businesses and entrepreneurs.

This was the second year that nominations for awards had been open to members of the venture capital community in Continental Europe. The ceremony demonstrated the industry has successfully weathered the storm and that there are promising signs within the exit and the IPO markets as investors continue to back portfolio companies and create European companies of scale, according to Investor AllStars.

“We are proud to announce the winners of this year’s awards,” said Sara Williams of Vitesse Media. “As in past years, they reflect the increasing maturity of the venture capital industry in the UK and Europe. They also show how many entrepreneurs have worked hard to create new revenue streams, and have adapt business plans to reflect the tough conditions, in order to protect, and in some cases, enhance profitability.”

This year’s winners included:

• Sean Seton-Rogers of PROfounders: VC Personality of the Year Award;
• Sonim Technologies: Alchemy Triumph over Adversity Award;
• Hermann Hauser of Amadeus: Outstanding Contribution of the Year Award;
• Sofinnova Partners: Exit of the Year Award for the sale of Core Valve;
• Northzone: Venture Capital Fund of the Year;
• Playfish (Accel, Index Ventures): Deal Envy of the Year;
• Environmental Technologies Fund: Cleantech Investor of the Year;
• Investcorp Technology Partners: Buyout/Development Capital Fund of the Year;
• NorthStar Equity Investors: Equity Gap Fund of the Year;
• Albion Ventures: VCT of the Year;
• Envestors: Private Investor Network of the Year; and
• Bird & Bird: Service Provider of the Year;

Nearly 500 European entrepreneurs, venture capital professionals and investors attended the awards ceremony sponsored by MTI, Schroders Private Banking, Alchemy, Private Equity Recruitment, Howard Kennedy, Penrose Financial, Ansarada, Marriott Harrison Solicitors and Bird & Bird.

Media partners included City A.M., The Chilli, Telecomfinance, Mediafinance and Millnet.

The compere for the evening was BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, and the keynote speaker and principal guest was Mark Sebba CEO of online fashion retailer, Net-a-porter, who spoke about e-commerce.

The judges for the 2009 awards were:

• Manish Madhvani, Co-founder, GP Bullhound (Chairman);
• George Coelho, Managing Director, Good Energies (UK) LLP;
• Pär-Jörgen Pärson, General Partner, Northzone Ventures;
• Wol Kolade, Managing Partner, Isis Equity Partners;
• Antoine Colboc, Head, Crédit Agricole Private Equity;
• Pierre de Fouquet, Co-MD & Founder Iris Capital, Chairman AFIC;
• Dr David Holbrook, General Partner, MTI Partners;
• Stephan Ziff, Investment Principal, Coller Capital;
• Claus Højberg Andersen, Partner & Co-founder, Nordic Venture Partners;
• Richard Brass, Director, Schroders Private Banking;
• Marc Barber, Editor, Business XL;
• Gail McManus, Founder, Private Equity Recruitment; and
• Ash Mehta, Chief Executive, Orchard Growth Partners.

“The winners of these awards show that innovation and entrepreneurship is still very much alive and kicking in Europe,” said Manish Madhvani, co-founder of GP Bullhound and chairman of the judging panel. “Despite the threat of regulation and economic difficulties, the investment community, entrepreneurs and investors have demonstrated a lot of resilience, and many are weathering the storm.”

He added, “It is important that we continue to highlight the very important contribution these risk-takers make to transforming European companies into world-beating firms companies, as it is their ingenuity and determination that contributes to powering the continent towards positive growth.”