Specialist Due Diligence Provider of the Year
GK Strategy
In the last 12 months, GK Strategy has continued to provide best-in-class political and regulatory insights to support transactions across the UK and internationally. The firm has supported over 30 deals over the course of the judging period, covering a diverse range of complex and technical policy areas, from elderly care to IR35 reform, mortgage brokerage and dentistry.
GK understands that it needs to innovate to remain the most trusted advisors in the political and regulatory due diligence field. Over the course of the judging period, we have adapted our offering to one highly focused on the emerging perspectives of the Labour Party, given the high likelihood they will form the next government. We have grown our contact base within the Party and associated organisations to develop greater insight on the likely policy direction of a Labour government in its first 5 years, which we have used to inform our offering to investors.
GK’s team works tirelessly to provide the most timely, robust and useable insights for its client base, helping PE and their management teams navigate a highly complex and changeable political landscape.
Marsh
Marsh’s Private Equity and M&A (PEMA) Practice continues to innovate and adapt our offering to the changing needs of the Private Equity investment community. In recent months, we have developed a combined engagement framework to allow clients to contract with Marsh McLennan for Insurance, ESG, Physical Climate, Cyber and People Due Diligence services under a single engagement.
Traditionally focussed on the provision of insurance due diligence services, we are now providing clients with advisory services that access the broadest range of capabilities within the Marsh McLennan group. This allows clients to consider and challenge a broader range of risks with the support of a single advisor, in a cost-effective, consistent and holistic way.
Crucially, we have ensured that our services consider the financial impacts of risk, thereby speaking to the specific concerns of the investment community. Our Cyber Risk Quantification offering, for example, addresses the monetary concerns of a cyber attack, as opposed to simply highlighting the associated risks.
We also adopt a proactive approach to supporting investors post-transaction. With a professional services firm of more than 80,000 employees at our fingertips, we are increasingly connecting our client base with the resources of our wider firm.
Palladium Group Limited
Palladium Digital, a pioneer in digital due diligence and tech innovation, has been a beacon of resilience in the economic downturn. Our unique, data-driven approach and early adoption of AI unlocked key digital opportunities across all fund sizes, fuelling successful acquisitions. The result? A diligence approach that supercharged DD and originations efficiency and amplified exit ROI.
Responding to market shifts, we turbocharged our digital, tech, and commercial capabilities, seamlessly integrating advanced analytics and AI-powered platforms. The crowning achievement in 2022-23 has been our unique, private Chat GPT models for the Private Equity community, a gamechanger in the industry. Coupled with our strategic acquisition of onefourzero and Whitespace, we've innovatively adapted our service offerings to match evolving client needs.
Despite the downturn, our product and proposition extensions have propelled growth. We supported 51 UK private equity deals, with a combined deal value of £3 billion, marking a 15% increase. Moreover, we've nurtured our client base and welcomed several new Houses to our portfolio.
Our unwavering commitment to bespoke solutions, adaptability amidst market changes, and robust business growth all highlight Palladium Digital's deserving candidacy for recognition.