Trethowans sees a trio of wins at Solent Deals Awards 2023
Trethowans has seen success in a trio of awards at the Solent Deals Awards 2023, which took place at a gala dinner held at the Hilton Ageas in Southampton on 23 March.
The awards, hosted by The Business Magazine, saw a highly competitive line-up of finalists whittled down by independent judges to winners in 14 categories.
Lucy Gleisner, Partner and Head of the Corporate team at Trethowans won the Lawyer of the Year award, which is presented to the lawyer who has had the most significant impact on completion of deals within the region.
Lucy commented: “I was on maternity leave for five months of 2022 and feel like I hit the ground running on my return by completing six deals with an enterprise value of over £50m last year. Juggling full time work in a corporate finance team and being a parent definitely has its challenges. However, this award can only be achieved by having a supportive team around me, which I certainly have at Trethowans”.
Nick Gent, Head of the Corporate group, said: “I’d like to congratulate Lucy on this award. It’s a brilliant achievement and recognition for the skill, hard work and dedication that she delivers for our clients”.
In further success for Trethowans, the MBO of Southampton-based marine precision engineering firm CJR Propulsion Limited won the Mid-Range Deal of the Year award (£10m to £50m). Lucy was the lead lawyer for this transaction.
Regarding the win, Lucy commented: “This was an important local deal involving a strong management team. The selling shareholders thought about a trade sale but decided that an MBO was a better way to progress the company. It also meant stability for the employees. MBOs like this work if you have a management team that have the drive and determination to take the company to the next level”.
The winner of the Small Deal of the Year (under £10m) category went to the sale of Inspire Accountants to Azets, a deal which was led by Trethowans’ Corporate Partner and Head of Bournemouth office Mark Nixon. Regarding the win, Mark commented: “Warren and the team at Inspire have worked tirelessly for their clients since the business was founded and thoroughly deserve their reputation for delivering service excellence to businesses across Bournemouth, Poole and the wider Solent region. The sale to Azets represented a fantastic opportunity for the continued growth of the business and for this to be recognised at the Solent deal awards is a real testament to all that they have achieved.”