London and South-East based companies recognised for exceptional growth in 2023
London-based First Mile, Eque 2 from Maidenhead, Techex based in Bracknell and Vivup previously based in Farnham have won the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Vision 2024 awards for London and South-East.
Sponsored by Grant Thornton and Santander, the annual awards honour the management teams of companies backed by private equity and venture capital.
Judges praised winners for their growth trajectory and excellent work driving sustainability initiatives. Eque 2 remained competitive in 2023 by winning new SME and enterprise customers consistently each month. First Mile were praised for their ESG practices as the business continued to deliver consistent financial returns while supporting leading UK businesses to reduce their carbon impact. Vivup and Techex were praised for their strong growth story, Techex increased its workforce by 33% following the Management Buyout in 2022, while Vivup grew its client base from 700 to over 4,000 from late 2022-2024.
Omin Partners (backing Vivup), Westbridge (backing Techex and Eque 2) and Growth Capital Partners (backing First Mile), all won awards for their outstanding support to investee companies.
Banbury-based StarTraq backed by August Equity was recognised as ‘One to Watch’.
In 2023, private capital invested £3.4bn in the South-East, backing 141 companies and supporting 12,600 jobs. London received £9.5bn of private capital investment in 2023, backing 623 businesses and supporting 753,000 jobs.
Representatives from all the recognised companies received their awards at BVCA’s flagship event, the Summit Main Conference, which took place at Sancroft in London. The awards were officially presented by Howard Dawber, London Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth, along with representatives from Santander and Grant Thornton.
Additional nations and regions winners will be announced throughout the year, with national winners celebrated at a Gala Dinner in December. The final list will feature 15 companies, including four recognised at different investment stages: early stage, scale-up, medium, and large.
Michael Moore, BVCA Chief Executive said:
“These businesses exemplify the outstanding growth and innovation that we aim to celebrate with the BVCA Vision 2024 awards.
“Their achievements in achieving exceptional growth trajectories and sustainability highlight the exceptional leadership driving the London and South East regions forward.
“We are proud to honour their successes and see the impact that private equity and venture capital has in the South East.”
Simon Moyle, Non-Executive Director at Vivup said:
“We are delighted to receive BVCA’s Vision 2024 award for London & South-East.
“Our first journey with Private Equity could not have gone any better, Omni Partners have been the perfect team to work with. The whole team have been great, from the first meeting we could tell that their people centric approach was an ideal match Vivup and we would share the same values which would lead forward together.
“To be able to deliver Omni Partners an 11 times return on their investment in only 15 months is a career high for me and the team and one that will be hard to beat more so because in doing this we have improved made a big difference to our near 400 remote workers who shared in a phantom share scheme ensuring they benefit from the success with us. Our incredible growth via market leading solutions now help over 4 million UK workers to improve their financial, mental and physical health including over 3 million NHS and public sector workers, we are proud to be making such an impact over such a large number of people.”
Scott Kewley, Chief Executive Officer at Techex said:
“I am proud on behalf of the team at Techex to have been awarded this prestigious BVCA award. This recognition reflects the dedication and effort our team has invested in driving sustained growth for the business, while fulfilling our ESG commitments.
Our award-winning technology innovations are essential in helping some of the world's most recognised live broadcast brands modernise and transform their broadcast systems, enabling them to deliver live events, such as sports, to millions of viewers worldwide via online platforms.
We continue to see strong growth both in the UK and internationally as we expand the Techex brand to other markets, including into the US. This award is a testament to the culture, drive, and determination of the people at Techex and we are proud to share this achievement with WestBridge, our fantastic and supportive private equity partner.”
Bruce Bratley, Founder and Chief Executive at First Mile said:
“First Mile and all the First Milers are very proud to be a winner at the 2024 British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association Vision Awards – it’s fantastic to be recognised for our approach to impact and service that sets us apart from our competitors.
“First Mile’s mission is to slow down climate change by helping our customers maximise recycling and advance the circular economy. I am incredibly proud of the support we have received from Growth Capital Partners, and our dedicated team who work tirelessly to grow First Mile. I’d like to thank our customers, partners, suppliers and team for helping to lessen our impact on the planet.”
Learn more about all winners in the Vision 2024 London & South East Awards booklet below, or more about Vision 2024: Leaders Driving Growth Awards on its webpage, here.
Media contacts
James Gribben, BVCA: [email protected]
Notes to editors
About the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association
The BVCA, as the representative body for private equity and venture capital, connects institutional investors, fund managers, companies, advisers and service providers together, with our membership currently comprising more than 600 businesses from across the private capital ecosystem. This includes more than 250 PE and VC firms, 100 institutional investors and 200 professional services firms.
Private capital drives growth – providing the funding, expertise and long-term view that enables companies to innovate and flourish. Our mission is to advocate the transformative nature of the private equity and venture capital community.
