The NEC Group has been announced as Large Company Management Team of the Year (Midlands) at the 2017 British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Management Team Awards in Birmingham.

The awards, now in their ninth year, are an annual celebration of UK companies, recognising and rewarding brilliant businesses that have been backed by UK private equity and venture capital investors.

NEC Group CEO Paul Thandi said: “Our driver for external investment was to realise our business plan and beyond.  Deliverability and pace are essential for us in responding to market opportunities, and bringing on board an external investor with the experience and breadth of LDC has brought a renewed energy and confidence to our teams and business, which has been essential in our progress.

“We have a clear strategy focused on data, customer experience and optimisation. Our key initiatives are helping us to push out the right messages, at the right time, to the right audience. We’re transforming our regional and national offer through a focused business and leisure destination strategy to give our visitors more compelling reasons to visit, and we’re extending our footprint through consultancy, management and operational expertise internationally.

“LDC have backed our management team since day one. Together we have changed the way we work and operate, and that speed of focus and speed of decision making has been fantastic for us; it’s injected huge energy into our company. We know we can grow our business exponentially over the next few years and LDC have been the catalyst for that, giving us a real singularity of focus.”

The Judges said: “Backed by LDC in 2015, Paul Thandi and his team impressed the judges by the way in which they are developing the commercial potential of this venue, notably the launch of Resorts World. Their management of the day-to-day business was also impressive, including their investment in people and in data capture technology.”

As regional winners, the NEC Group will now represent the Midlands in the national final at the BVCA Gala Dinner in London on 30 November.