As Michael Taylor, Editor of the North West Insider introduced me at the yesterday’s Insider Breakfast event, “where’s Manoj, a short chap, ah there he is”. Luckily, Sean Fensom, Chairman and Digital Veteren of Manchester Digital later came to my rescue as he is shorter than me. At this point, I felt a whole lot better, having cocked up my earlier question to the panel, which Dave Carter, Head of Manchester Digital Development Agency responded by saying that if we want help, talk to the VCs. Unfortunately, there are only two VCs in town (EV Group and YFM Private Equity). They are as risk-averse as hell, unless its their ideas (sorry guys – bit unfair I know! Julian, loves your rough 2010 look!). Later, Michael tweeted the following, perhaps thinking he offended me (no chance there, Mike)

@manojranaweera #ff top chap. Loads of energy, ideas and charming eccentricity

At least, Michael has been consistent in there. This is the second time, and the only person to my knowledge to call me eccentric. As you can see from the thumbnail (first one), at least I am with good company (2nd paragraph right hand).

Ok, those who were misfortunate enough to miss the excellent event organised by Insider Digital Team, which was well attended, here (second above) is a Twitter Report courtesy of moi!

What I also realised is that there are some hard networkers in Manchester, whom you would see attending many of the city’s key events. Here is a list in no particular order:

• Phil Jones – UK Managing Director, Brother – a man who thinks we still need a printer (actually I own two)
• Awan Moneeb – a man in demand – Chairman of Manchester Chamber of Commerce
• Graham Bond – Baker Tilly – must find a way to do business with Graham as he is everywhere!
• Steve Bennett – ex IoD – nice chap!
• Tom Cheesewright – a man who keeps changing brands, And Digital

I would like to share some of the discussions I was part of, if that’s OK with you:

1. Manchester Digital – has a desire to connect with all the technology based groups in the city. This aspect is currently managed by NWDC (chaired by Andrew Disley), which I am a member of. Other than NS20 and Manchester Digital all other members of NWDC run software user groups except for GeekUp (Andrew’s baby!), which is a collective of software developers (and friends).
2. Sharp Project – I am yet to have a proper chat with Sue Webster who runs Sharp project, but question remains whether she has ambitions to open up her well-funded facilities to product-based technology companies that NS20 champions.
3. Creatives and NS20 – This year, NS20 will put effort into building stronger relationships with other organisations. RedVision promised to give me an insight to digital media – I must follow this up!
4. Broadband issue – This is currently a hot issue in Manchester, and it would not be right, if I do not poke my nose into this discussion. In addition, being a partner and a tenant of Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (DSIC), I would like DSIC to be a major stakeholder in this discussion, due to DSIC hosting a Media Access Point, the forthcoming Vanguard House (third thumbnail), and current 85 or so high-tech tenants. I also believe that Northernnet and other stakeholders have not engaged with the business community in sufficient context to understand their needs. I have been promised through twitter that marketing of Media Access Points will commence next month.
5. Insider and NS20 – There is a desire to do something together. I just wish that respective parties (one being me!) sit down and firm up what, when and where? Talk is cheap, only actions matter! (Take the hint Mr. Taylor!)

Based on some further discussions outside the Insider Breakfast (I enjoyed it, let me in next time as well Michael!), there are few other areas I need to poke my nose at (when would someone pay for all these nose poking is not clear):

1. Building a VC culture. It seems the city has ambitions to attract VCs from elsewhere to setup base here. Did you know that NS20 brought VCs from Internet Capital (New York, USA), Advent Partners, DFJ Esprit (twice), Eden Ventures, Seedcamp, Difference Engine/North East Finance, Doughty Hanson to Manchester without any public sector spending? The responsibility for this activity seems to be given to a specific body (not sure which part of this was confidential so better not spill out the beans in case they did not know it themselves). Plus they wish to make existing VCs less risk-averse! According to Steve Livingston, most of the VCs that comes through his accountancy practice are not interested in technology companies. If Manchester wants NS20′s help, we will be happy to help in educating the VC sector.
2. Businesses and IT. It seems that some non IT businesses are bit fedup of hearing too much about the city’s focus on creative media. And they seem to be in the dark about how to take advantage of new technologies to improve their bottom line. Sounds like an opportunity for NS20. I think there is a way we could address this whilst helping our budding tech entrepreneurs. More to come later.

As usual, drop your thoughts here please.

Last night (12th Nov 2009), Manchester hosted the Insider Dealmakers Awards 2009, which I could not attend due to clashing with Northern StartUp 2.0 – Managing Growth event I hosted. Below is a list of the winners taken from Insidernews without any amendment.

Dealmaker of the Year
Winner Jonathan Boyers, KPMG
Shortlisted Jonathan Boyers, KPMG; Nick Davenport, Turner Parkinson; Paul Stringer, Cowgill Holloway; Andy Westbrook, Deloitte
The highly-coveted Dealmaker of the Year award is given to the corporate finance professional that has made the biggest impression on the community over the past year. Boyers has acted on number of deals, including the disposal of Pilkington France SAS and Pilkington (Schweiz) AG by Japanese giant Nippon Sheet Glass. He also advised the vendor on the sale of Lancashire-based security business Legion Group to AIM-quoted rival SectorGuard for £1.
Sponsored by Watson Moore
 
Turnaround Deal of the Year
Winner Styles & Wood – refinancing
Shortlisted Styles & Wood – refinancing; Focus DIY – company voluntary arrangement; Canterbury – acquired by JD Sports
Styles and Wood announced the bold plans in May, which involved raising £34.91m through share placings and debt for equity swaps. Chief executive Ivan McKeever said the move would provide the company with the funds to secure its position.
Sponsored by KBC Business Capital
 
New Technology Deal of the Year
Winner DXS – sale to Qiagen
Shortlisted Ascribe – public to private deal; Nanoco – reverse takeover; DXS – sale to Qiagen
Insider is always excited about technology deals and new technologies that can change how we live and work. This deal saw Manchester pharmaceuticals business DxS sold to European buyer Qiagen. The investment syndicate led by NVM Private Equity achieved a record return from the sale.
Sponsored by Citypress
 
Fund of the Year
Winner YFM Group – North West Business Investment Scheme
Shortlisted YFM Group – North West Business Investment Scheme; Enterprise Ventures – for Rising Stars Technology Fund; Alliance Fund Managers – Merseyside Special Investment Fund
The winning fund was launched in April 2003 to meet a need identified by the North West Regional Development Agency for a flexible fund to invest in high-growth businesses across the North West. It has had an exceptionally good year, achieving good returns for businesses like DxS.
Sponsored by North West Regional Development Agency
 
AIM Deal of the Year
Winner Daisy Communications
Shortlisted Formation Group – acquisition of divisions by Gresham; Nanoco – reverse takeover to achieve listing; Daisy Communications – flotation; Ascribe Software – public to private
Insider expected a quiet year for AIM deals, but there have been companies leaving the market as well as floating. Daisy’s audacious move to consolidate the telecoms reseller market marks an incredible run by the Nelson-based company.
Sponsored by WH Ireland
 
Small Deal of the Year
Winner Terraconsult
Shortlisted Individual Restaurant Company – fundraising; The Hut – acquisition of the assets of Zavvi; Terraconsult – management buyout
This deal, brokered by Nick Hulme Corporate Finance, had some complex issues to resolve despite being at the smaller end of the market. It saw a young quartet of shareholders to take over this Warrington-based environmental consultancy.
Sponsored by Handlesbanken
 
Private Equity Team of the Year
Winner LDC
Shortlisted LDC, Endless, ECI Partners, Gresham Private Equity, Inflexion Private Equity, Zeus Private Equity
Despite the tough market, LDC has continued buying, selling and backing businesses. In the North West, it has worked on the £20m management buyout (MBO) of Ansa Holdings and Independent Inspection Holdings from parent company Mavinwood, and backed the £5.9m MBO of Manchester-based retailer Modelzone.
Sponsored by Cobbetts
 
Banking Team of the Year
Winner Yorkshire Bank
Shortlisted The Co-operative Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Lloyds TSB, The Royal Bank of Scotland
It’s been easy to knock the banks, but this award recognises the solid teams of bankers and deal doers that exist in the region. Yorkshire Bank has backed such buyouts as ANSA Holdings, provided funding for marine services provider James Fisher and Sons, and arranged the debt for the buyout of health software group Ascribe.
Sponsored by MC2
 
Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year
Winner Cowgill Holloway
Shortlisted Clearwater Corporate Finance, KPMG, Deloitte, Rickitt Mitchell, Cowgill Holloway
Cowgill Holloway was one of the big winners at Insider’s Lancashire Dealamakers Awards and has continued that success at the North West ceremony. The firm really caught the eye with its work on the sale of Bury construction services business Garic to Liverpool-based Bibby Line Group.
Sponsored by Venture Finance
 
Corporate Law Firm of the Year
Winner Turner Parkinson
Shortlisted Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Cobbetts, Turner Parkinson, Eversheds
Nick Davenport’s team at Turner Parkinson have quietly built a reputation as fleet of foot players in the legal market and have also done well to launch a new online service called TP Deals, a weekly email update detailing new opportunities, which is sent to more than 4,000 business owners and professionals.
Sponsored by Merrill DataSite
 
Asset-Based Lender of the Year
Winner KBC Business Capital
Shortlisted Barclays, Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, KBC Business Capital, Venture Finance
At a time when banks are demanding the toughest of guarantees, KBC regional director Mark Shackleton and his team have been active in the market this year. The firm provided an £8.8m asset finance line to North Wales firelighter and barbeque ignition product manufacturer Tiger Tim Products, and a £3.5m facility to Manchester-based distributor of kitchens and white goods Appliance 365.
Sponsored by Manchester Central
 
Transaction Services Team of the Year
Winner Deloitte
Shortlisted PKF, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG
Richard Bell’s 14-strong transaction services team at Deloitte has completed 11 transactions in the past 12 months, with a total deal value of £2.1bn. Completed transactions include the £10m acquisition of NGSS by NCC Group, and the £1.6bn acquisition of Somerfield by the Co-operative Group.
Sponsored by Centric Commercial Finance