Meridian Receive Multiple Nominations!

The Awards night is the highlight of the South Coast's corporate finance calendar, bringing together high profile and respected professional firms across the Solent region to celebrate their successes over the last year.

Meridian are once again sponsors of the 'Lawyer of the Year' award and we wish finalists Hayley Bevis of Coffin Mew, Lucy Gleisner of Trethowans, Steve Cole of Blake Morgan and Steve Porter of Shoosmiths the very best of luck. All of the nominees have excellent reputations locally and are recognised as leading lawyers in the Solent Region.

Best of luck also to our very own Daniel Kirtley who has been nominated for Corporate Finance Adviser of the Year and Philip Mettam who has been nominated for Young Adviser of the Year.

The Meridian team are delighted to have been nominated for Corporate Finance Team of the Year and Private Equity Firm of the year. Deals we completed which have also received nominations are:

• The management buy-out of Four-Tees Engineers for Small Deal of the Year;
• The sale of Dream Doors to Neighborly for Mid-range Deal of the Year;
• The management buy-out of Aerial Direct for Mid-Range Deal of the Year;
• The sale of Loveholidays to Livingbridge for Large Deal of the Year; and
• Aerial Direct for Management Team of the Year.
  

Meridian backed Loveholidays in 2012 as a significant cornerstone investor as part of a £2m initial fund raise, when the start-up had four employees, excluding Darren as a Board Member! Since then, Meridian had made various investments into the company as it continued to expand and outperform expectations, eventually becoming the 8th largest travel agent in the UK with its own unique technology platform.

Meridian remained heavily involved with the strategy of Loveholidays until the 'investment journey' culminated in a £190m sale to private equity firm Livingbridge, which is understood to be their largest investment to date. As the largest shareholder outside the management team, Meridian realised a 20 times return on their investment.

This is a remarkable investment journey and one that ended in a sale price roughly equivalent to c.40% of the current market cap of Thomas Cook – a travel company and household name with roots dating back to 1841. Loveholidays is a clear example of a great investment into a market disruptor by Southampton based Meridian Growth Capital and was one of the most prominent exits in 2018.

We look forward to seeing you all at The Hilton Hotel at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on 23rd May 2019 – best of luck to all the finalists in their respective categories!

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