Last night, at the Royal Lancaster in London, 450 leading decision makers from the UK’s vibrant SME investment ecosystem celebrated their stellar successes at a the third annual Growth Investor Awards, organised by Intelligent Partnership.

MMC Ventures was crowned 2017 Growth Investor of the Year, beating out a veritable who’s who of UK venture capital funding including Deepbridge Capital, NVM Private Equity, Stage Capital and runner-up Albion Capital. In this category, a great rate of return is paramount. MMC Ventures was found to excel beyond this metric, with particular praise falling on its culture of longevity and efforts to help companies secure next stage funding.

The Growth Investor of the Year award, sponsored by Beauhurst, recognises providers specialising in venture capital who combine sterling investment performance with maximum impact on investee companies. Judges looked at – within the context of client base and proportion of venture capital investment in portfolios – product development, management of risk and quality of adviser outreach, in addition to investment performance and impact.

Henry Whorwood, Senior Consultancy Associate at Beauhurst, presented the prestigious award. In previous years the accolade has been scooped twice by Octopus Investments.

Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director at Intelligent Partnership, expanded on the judges’ decision:

“The advisory panel was impressed with the steps MMC took to broaden advisor engagement and outreach, evidenced by strong growth in new sources of investment in the last 12 months. The judges further heaped praise on the manager’s long-term approach, assisting businesses to access funding for next stage development even post-MMC.”

Rory Bremner presided over the exclusive black tie awards, spanning 16 different categories. Chris Philp MP, entrepreneur and Parliamentary Private Secretary to HM Treasury Ministers, gave the first keynote speech of the evening. The ceremony featured a second keynote speech from Alan Cheatle, CEO and founder of TEN Group, on its stages of growth and how magic can happen when great investors meet promising entrepreneurs.

The Growth Investor Awards have consistently showcased the resounding successes of investment providers, high-growth companies and financial intermediaries. Together they are promoting high-potential SMEs, striving to bridge the productivity gap, and creating jobs and wealth across the UK.

Tolhurst said: “Progress matters. We need to be more aware of the unconscious bias that draws us towards people just like us across all parts of the SME investment ecosystem. The UK is one of the best places to start a business, but for it to become one of the best places to scale a business, we need to campaign for opportunity and success for all.”

Margot James MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commented “It is events like these – where the business community comes together to both reward and recognise laudable achievements – that instil in us all a great sense of pride in the UK. We are working hard to support businesses and entrepreneurs across the UK to ensure they can access the finance and wider support to grow and have the right conditions for companies to invest in the long term. Events like the Growth Investor Awards do a great service to that end. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone who received an award and hope this serves as inspiration to others to start and build their own businesses.”

For more information visit growthinvestorawards.com.