TWO companies supported by private equity house WestBridge Capital have been recognised in the BVCA Management Team Awards 2014.
Barnstaple-based Aero Stanrew won the award for best Middle Market Private Equity-backed Management Team of the Year and is now in contention for a national award which will be announced in June.
The win comes shortly after the company, which designs and manufactures high integrity electromagnetic and electronic components and systems for 'high reliability' markets such as aerospace, oil and gas, received a Queen's Award for Industry.
Guy Davies, managing partner at WestBridge Capital and a member of the judging panel, said:
"It's fair to say that Aero Stanrew is enjoying an exceptional period. We supported a management buy out at the company just two years ago, since which time the management team has consistently and rapidly grown the business by leveraging off its deep customer relationships and entering new industry segments.
"The management team is confident of developing a business worth £50 million in the next two years.
"If their performance to-date is anything to go by, I see no reason why they shouldn't achieve this."
Another WestBridge backed company, Cirencester-based Kallidus, was a runner-up in the Venture Capital Management Team of the Year category of the same awards.
Kallidus is a leading provider of learning and talent management solutions to a range of sectors, including retail, education, finance, automotive, and central government.
Davies added:
"Everyone in the industry knows that the BVCA awards represent an endorsement of the quality of business and management teams. It's very gratifying to see two of our portfolio companies feature in two out of eight categories.
"The Kallidus team was very unlucky not to take top spot in their category this year."