THE first awards in the Midlands to recognise professionals working in the insolvency and turnaround sector are to be held in Birmingham this week.
The ‘Saint Nick’ Awards, organised by Endless LLP, the specialist investor in turnaround companies, take place at the city’s Jam House nightclub on Wednesday, and have attracted more than 100 nominations. More than 300 professionals from accountancy, legal, private equity, banking and turnaround firms are expected to attend.
Eversheds, KPMG, Yorkshire Bank, HSBC and Deloitte are amongst the firms competing in the awards, which are named after Saint Nicholas, “a venerated miracle worker whose legends depict him as a protector and helper of those in need”. All proceeds from the event will go to Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s Heart Appeal.
Fifteen awards will be presented on the night, culminating in the ‘Turnaround Professional of the Year’ Award. There will also be a category to recognise the ‘Rising Star’ of the profession.
All profits from the event, which has already sold around 300 tickets, will go to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, The Children’s Heart Appeal.
Nick Leitch, Director at Endless, said: “For too long, the local turnaround professional community has not received the recognition it deserves for its invaluable work in helping rescue businesses and preserve jobs across the Midlands. The turnaround and restructuring community plays a vital role in strengthening the local economy, particularly in these times, and the Saint Nick Awards will hopefully go some way to formally recognising this”.
Shahaji Begum from Birmingham Children’s Hospital said: “We are delighted that all proceeds from the St Nick Awards will support our Children’s Heart Appeal. The funds raised will go towards building a specialist theatre for our cardiac patients; the first of its kind in the UK and all the proceeds raised will make a big impact on reaching our total.”
The event has received sponsorship from industry leaders including KPMG, HBJ Gateley Wareing, King Sturge, Ernst & Young, Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, Santander and Orbis Partners LLP.
Full details can be found at http://stnicksmidlands.endlessllp.com.