South West 20 Years of Dealmaking
April 2026
CELEBRATING TWO DECADES OF EXCELLENCE
Celebrating 20 years of Insider’s coverage of the South West dealmaking landscape, as well as its iconic Dealmakers Awards, Remy Greasley speaks to those figures who shaped the industry in their image.
For two decades Insider has sat with the South West’s dealmaking community as it weathered immeasurable storms and economic crises and watched the entry of private equity into the regional market. On June 25, the South West’s dealmaking community will congregate in Bristol for the prestigious awards night as it enters its 20th year.
Twenty years ago, Insider launched its first South West Dealmakers Awards into a market still finding its feet. Private equity was an emerging force, boutique advisory barely existed, and the region was largely off the radar of national investors. Now, the landscape is unrecognisable. The South West has become a genuinely competitive dealmaking arena and has proven its ability to produce high-quality, scalable businesses that attract global attention. To mark the last two decades, we sat down with the figures who shaped it: the advisers, investors and dealmakers who were there at the beginning, and who are still driving it forward today.