The 17th year of The Treasurer’s Deals of the Year Awards recognised once again the tremendous achievements of corporate treasurers from all across the EU in successfully managing the financial markets on behalf of their companies and organisations in 2014. These are the only treasury awards from a professional treasury association in Europe, judged by treasurers for treasurers.
Once again supported by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, the awards celebrated excellence in corporate treasury. Nearly 140 guests, including treasurers representing more than 55 corporates from 11 countries, were welcomed to the Banking Hall, Cornhill, by Andrew Bester, group director and CEO, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, and by ACT engagement director Peter Matza.
All types of deals, including bonds, loans and corporate finance transactions from corporates across Europe, are eligible for entry into the awards. This year deal sizes ranged from our smallest at £34m to our largest at €15.6bn. (The biggest deal that we have ever had nominated was worth a whopping $54bn.) The 2014 awards attracted more nominations than ever before and nominations from more countries than have previously entered. The awards honour the winners and highly commended nominees for their sound treasury management in the form of efficient pricing, innovative structures or success in prevailing market conditions.
The treasury teams nominated for these awards managed to secure over £137bn in funding between them. That’s probably only a small fraction of the funding raised by corporate treasurers across the EU, let alone in other parts of the world. It demonstrates, however, the fundamental importance of having skilled, professional and gifted individuals and their teams in control of corporate funding.
All of the categories were competitive, but the bonds below £500m (equivalent) category was particularly closely fought. This reflects the widespread activity in that marketplace last year. In general, the judges were impressed with the ever-increasing professionalism of corporate treasurers and their adeptness at executing bold and ambitious deals.
Guests were treated to a video montage explaining all about the awards, what makes them so important, and how treasurers and their teams can use them to demonstrate their capabilities to a wider audience. You can view the video at www.treasurers.org/awards/2014
Some of you reading this may feel you would like to be nominated or even be a winner in this year’s awards, which will launch in September 2015. I would say you should line up your advisers and bankers as soon as possible and, if that doesn’t work, you can nominate yourselves. There’s no need to feel shy about your achievements! And as Lesley Flowerdew, group tax and treasury director at FTSE 250-listed design, engineering and project management consultancy Atkins, and chair of the Deals of the Year Awards judging panel, says in her video: “If you’re thinking about this year’s awards, then don’t hesitate, go for it!”
For details of the winners and highly commended treasury teams, see www.treasurers.org/node/10840
Peter Matza is engagement director at the ACT
Photos by Carol Moir
