Several Bondholders among dealmaker awards finalists

A number of Marketing Derby Bondholders are among the finalists for awards which recognise the best dealmakers in the region.

The shortlists for the Midlands Dealmakers Awards 2026 have now been published by event organiser Midlands Business Insider.

And several companies will be flying the flag for the Bondholder community at the awards ceremony, which is due to take place in Birmingham on Thursday, 17 September.

Firstly, LDC is up for the Private Equity/Venture Capital Team of the Year title.

Two deals involving Dains have been shortlisted in the Deal of the Year (up to £10m) category.

Its acquisition of Curo (which involved a team consisting of DSW Corporate Finance, Dains, Shakespeare Martineau) and its acquisition of TBAT Innovation (which involved a team consisting of PKF Smith Cooper, Dains, Smith Partnership) both received nods from the judges.

Other deals involving LDC and Shakespeare Martineau have also been shortlisted in both the Deal of the Year (up to £10m) and Deal of the Year (£10m to £50m) categories.

PKF Smith Cooper is nominated in three other categories: Transaction Services Team of the Year. Mid-Market Corporate Finance Team of the Year (where it is joined by Azets Corporate Finance) and Dealmaker of the Year, in the form of Darren Hodson, who lines up alongside LDC’s Chris Handy.

Finally, Natasha Hill, from Azets, will be contesting the Emerging Dealmaker of the Year title.

According to Midlands Business Insider, this year’s awards attracted more than 300 entries.

Insider editor Kurt Jacobs said: “This was a massive undertaking for our judges.

“Reading such a large number of submissions was the equivalent of reading a long novel.

“And the overall quality of the entries was excellent, which is why some of this year’s shortlists are longer than usual.

“On behalf of the Midlands’ dealmaking community, I’d like to thank the judges for their hard work sifting through such a strong field.

“And although it was a major task, getting such a huge response shows just what rude health the Midlands M&A community is in. It shows just how active and how ambitious Midlands dealmakers are.”