
AWARDS
Recognising excellence across the full SLF value chain — platforms, capital providers, advisers and service providers.
SHORTLISTED FIRMS CAN MAKE THEIR SUBMISSIONS HERE
Financing Bank of the Year (Arranger)
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Bank of America
- Barclays
- BNP Paribas
- Citi
- Deutsche Bank
- Goldman Sachs
- J.P. Morgan
- Lloyds Bank
- NatWest
- Societe Generale
Innovative Product of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
-
Apollo AMAPS
-
Enpal (Golden Ray 3)
-
Funding Circle FlexiPay
-
Serval 2026-1
-
Velocity 2026-1
Awarded to the most innovative lending or funding product launched or significantly enhanced during the eligibility period. Entries should demonstrate originality, market need, commercial success and measurable benefits for borrowers, investors or funding partners.
Consumer Lending Platform of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Abound
- Admiral Financial Services
- Klarna
- Lendable
- NewDay
SME Lending Platform of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
-
Capital on Tap
-
Funding Circle
-
Haydock
-
iwoca
-
YouLend
Awarded to the specialist lender delivering exceptional financing solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Judges will consider underwriting excellence and customer journey, product innovation, growth and lending performance, funding strategy and execution, and market leadership.
Mortgage Lending Platform of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
-
Atlas
-
LendInvest
-
Pepper Money
-
Together
-
West One Loans
Receivables Finance Platform of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
-
Bibby Financial Services
-
FIS Working Capital Solutions
-
Kriya
-
Sonovate
-
YouLend
Auto Financing Platform of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Carmoola
- Lendable
- Octopus Electric Vehicles
- Oodle
- Startline Motor Finance
Start-up Platform of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Abound
- Ayan Capital
- Carmoola
- Perenna
- Tembo
Law Firm / Counsel of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- A&O Shearman
- Ashurst Perkins Coie
- Clifford Chance
- Fieldfisher
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- Macfarlanes
- Paul Hastings
- Reed Smith
- Simmons & Simmons
Advisory Firm of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Alantra
- Alvarez and Marsal
- Houlihan Lokey
- Interpath
- PwC
Awarded to the advisory firm providing outstanding strategic advice to specialist lenders, investors or originators. This may include debt advisory, capital raising, M&A, portfolio sales or structured finance advisory. Judges will evaluate client outcomes, innovation and transaction expertise.
Accounting & Loan Advisory Firm of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
-
Broadstone Lending Advisory Services
-
Deloitte
-
Five Sigma
-
Interpath
-
KPMG
Recognises firms providing exceptional accounting, diligence, portfolio review or transaction support services to the specialist lending market. Judges will consider technical expertise, execution quality and client impact.
Rating Agency of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Fitch Group
- KBRA
- Moodys
- Morningstar DBRS
- S&P Global Ratings
Recognises the rating agency that has made an outstanding contribution to specialist lending and structured finance through analytical excellence, market insight and support for capital formation. Judges will consider analytical excellence, transparency and methodology, market insight, and industry leadership.
Senior Debt Investor of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Barclays
- Citi
- Lloyds
- PIMCO
- Pollen Street Capital
Recognises the institutional investor providing significant debt capital to the specialist lending market. Judges will consider investment activity, innovation, partnership approach, market impact and support across senior capital strategies.
Mezzanine / Junior Debt Investor of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- BlackRock
- Insight
- M&G Investments
- TwentyFour Asset Management
- Waterfall
Awarded to the investor that has made the most significant contribution to the specialist lending market through the provision of mezzanine, junior, subordinated or preferred capital. Judges will consider transaction activity, structuring expertise, partnership approach, innovation and support for lender growth and funding diversification.
Equity Investor of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
-
Bayview Asset Management
-
M&G Investments
-
One William Street
-
PIMCO
-
Waterfall
Awarded to the investor making the greatest contribution to the growth of specialist lenders through equity investment. Judges will consider capital deployment, strategic partnership, portfolio support and long-term value creation.
Trustee / Transaction Services Provider of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- BNY Mellon
- Citi
- CSC
- Law Debenture
- U.S. Bank
Loan Servicer of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- BCM Global
- Link Financial
- Pepper Advantage
- Target Group
Data Provider of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- 9fin
- Bloomberg
- Cardo AI
- ConceptABS
- EuroABS
Securitisation Deal of the Year
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
-
ADMI 2026-1
-
Ares European Direct Lending CLO 1 (Sterling Middle Market CLO)
-
Beequip – Hive 2025-1
-
Frontier Mortgage Funding 2026-1 PLC (UK RMBS)
-
Hoxton Consumer Funding 2026 -1
-
Morglas 2026-1
-
Serval 2026-1
-
StrideUp — Meridian Funding 2025-1
-
Velocity 2026-1
-
Vytis Reno Loans 2025-1
Rising Star Award
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Connor Hollingsworth - Associate Director; Securitisation - British Business Bank
- Jasper Visser - Analyst; Structured Finance & Treasury - Hiltermann Lease
- Pauline Quirin - Portfolio Manager; Stuctured Credit - TwentyFour Asset Management
- William Albright - Associate; ABS/RMBS Financing & Securitisation - Citi
Industry Leadership Award
Shortlist (in alphabetical order)
- Connor Marshall-Mckie - Partner - Pollen Street Capital
- Dipesh Mehta - Chief Capital Officer - Funding Circle
- Janet Oram - Head of Asset Backed Securities - USS
- Nick Parkhouse - Managing Director; Global Head of Financial Services - Interpath
- Nick Stainthorpe - Partner - ReedSmith
- Rob Ford - Consulting Advisor - TwentyFour Asset Management
TIMELINE
A four-stage process designed to ensure results reflecting genuine market opinion, validated by independent expert judges.
Voting
15 Jul - 4 Sep 2026
Open voting from verified market participants. Vote weightings reflect the depth of each voter's direct experience with SLF transactions.
Shortlisting
4 Sep - 11 Sep 2026
Shortlists are compiled from voting data and reviewed by the DealCatalyst editorial team. Shortlisted firms are invited to submit supporting material.
Submission
14 Sep - 10 Oct 2026
Shortlisted firms submit evidence of their work and achievements. Submissions are evaluated by the independent judges panel.
Judging
Oct 2026
An independent panel of senior market practitioners reviews all submissions against the voting data to determine final winners.
Ceremony
23 November 2026
The winners will be announced on the evening of the SLF 2026 conference, hosted at the Royal Lancaster, in London, on Monday 23 November. Register your interest in booking a table here.
1. Brief and scoping
We meet to understand your objectives, target audience, and the questions you want answered. We advise on survey design, sample size, and the format best suited to your goals.
2. Survey design and fieldwork
Our research team designs the questionnaire with your input and deploys it to the relevant segment of the DealCatalyst delegate network. Fieldwork typically takes two to three weeks.
3. Analysis and editorial
We analyse the data, identify the key findings, and write the report. You review a draft before publication. Reports can be co-branded with the DealCatalyst Intelligence mark or published under your brand as a white-label product.
4. Publication and distribution
The report is published on the DealCatalyst Intelligence hub and promoted across email, LinkedIn, and our events programme. You receive verified lead data on every downloader.
5. Performance reporting
Four weeks after publication we provide a full performance report covering downloads, audience demographics, geographic reach, email opens, and qualified leads generated.
METHODOLOGY
Designed in consultation with the SLF market to ensure the process rewards genuine excellence.
DealCatalyst has developed a methodology for the SLF European Awards that recognises the unique characteristics of the specialist lender finance market. Votes are weighted by the voter's role and closeness to SLF transactions, ensuring allocators and liquidity providers — who have the most direct view of performance — carry the greatest influence.
Vote Weightings by Participant Type
|
5 |
3 |
2 |
|
Allocators, LPs, & Institutional Investors |
Specialist Lending Platforms, Banks, & Borrowers |
All Other Verified Participants |
Points Allocation
| RANKING | BASE POINTS | BONUS POINTS AVAILABLE? |
| 1st choice | 3 points | Yes - if a valid reason is provided |
| 2nd choice | 2 points | Yes - if a valid reason is provided |
| 3rd choice | 1 point | Yes - if a valid reason is provided |
| Self-vote | 0 points | No |
| Bonus Point — Reasoning Requirement Voters who provide a valid, substantive reason for their nomination receive an additional bonus point for that vote. This incentivizes informed voting and discourages block-voting campaigns. The reasoning is reviewed by the DealCatalyst editorial team and is not published. |
||
Eligibility & Validation
All votes are validated by the DealCatalyst team before inclusion in the final count. Self-votes, duplicates, non-verified participants and votes from individuals who cannot demonstrate a relevant connection to the SLF market are removed. Final results are subject to review by the independent judging panel.
CONFIRMED JUDGES
Each judge will sit and adjudicate on 5-6 categories, assisting DealCatalyst in shortlisting and ultimately determining the final winners for those categories. Judges will be recused from working on categories where their firm or a direct competitor is shortlisted.
Additionally, judges will be recused from any category where they are conflicted for other reasons, such as being a testimonial. DealCatalyst will further request that judges maintain objectivity in their decision-making.
Ganesh Rajendra
Managing Partner
Integer Advisors
Boudewijn Dierick
Managing Director & Country Officer
Auxmoney Investments Ltd
Greg Branch
Chief Investment Officer
SCIO
With 34 years of industry experience, Greg is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of SCIO Capital – a London based credit manager providing asset-based loans to lower mid-market European and UK borrowers. Before SCIO, he served as Head of European ABS/CLO Trading at Deutsche Bank and Head of CMBS Structuring at Lehman Brothers. Greg holds a Master of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
Darren Nesbitt
Chief Executive Officer
EuroABS
Darren Nesbitt is Chief Executive Officer at EuroABS. Darren joined EuroABS from Barclays Capital in 2009, where he was part of the ABS Secondary Trading Desk. EuroABS are the market leader in providing regulatory compliance services in the global securitisation markets. EuroABS holds the largest available database of UK & European ABS including regulatory reporting data, prospectuses, collateral/investor reports, and issuance commentary dating back to 1995.
Patrizia Lando
Head of Structured Products and Capital Markets
Fasanara Capital
Patrizia currently serves as the Head of Capital Markets, Origination and Financing at Fasanara Capital. Patrizia has 20+ years of track record in debt and advisory solutions for institutional clients at NatWest Markets, PwC, Morgan Stanley and Fitch Ratings, where she covered different roles in Origination, Sales, Structuring, Credit and Advisory. In her various roles she delivered innovative financing structures secured by performing and non-performing financial and commercial assets, commercial real estate and servicing/origination platforms.
Romain Guilleminet
Head of Capital Markets
iwoca
Romain Guilleminet is the Head of Capital Markets at iwoca, where he leads investor outreach, capital structure strategy, and transaction execution to provide financing solutions for SMEs. With extensive experience in securitisation and asset finance, Romain has previously held roles at HPS Investment Partners and Lloyds Bank. He has successfully structured complex deals across Europe including large corporate facilities and high profile acquisitions. Romain holds a Master in Management from Audencia and has passed the three levels of the CFA Program.
Miray Muminoglu
Managing Director - Head of Securitised Products Group
Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets
Miray Muminoglu is head of Securitised Products Group and Financial Institutions DCM at Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets. Prior to joining Lloyds in 2021, he worked at Barclays where his last role was head of wholesale funding, prior to which he held senior roles at fixed income syndicate desks at Barclays and JP Morgan.
Tamara Box
Senior Consultant
Reed Smith
Kevin Ingram
Partner
Clifford Chance
Edward Ballin
Head of Primary ABS Syndicate
Barclays
Matthew Pentecost
Partner
Ashurst Perkins Coie
Steve Harrison
Director - Debt Capital Markets
Together Financial Services
Janet Oram
Head of Asset-backed Securities
USS Investment Management
Tristan Cheesman
Managing Director - Head of EMEA/APAC Structured Finance Syndicate
Bank of America
Dipesh Mehta
Chief Capital Officer
Funding Circle
Gary McKenzie-Smith
Managing Partner and Co-founder
Venn Partners
Peter Voisey
Partner
Dentons
Peter is a leading securitization and structured finance practitioner and partner in the firm's Banking and Finance practice. He co-heads the firm's securitization and structured finance practice.
He advises originators, arrangers and other market participants, both within the UK and internationally, on a broad range of public and private securitization and warehousing transactions, covering many asset classes, including residential mortgages, consumer loans, auto loans, commercial mortgages, NPLs, trade receivables, corporate and leverage loans, equity release and home reversion plans, as well as on the acquisition, financing and disposal of portfolios of assets, both performing and non-performing, in the whole loan market. He also advises on supply chain financing and factoring programs, and on cash and synthetic structures of all kinds.
Peter's experience includes advising on many RMBS, CMBS, ABS and CLO programs, and also on bank-sponsored conduit programs; he also has extensive experience of real estate finance transactions, including those financed by capital markets issues.
He also has extensive experience of the establishment of, and issues under, covered bond programs, including for banks and other financial institutions in the UK, continental Europe and globally. He also advises on capital market programs, including secured and unsecured programs. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, and author of articles, on topics concerning developments in the securitization and covered bond markets, and a member of industry bodies, including AFME and ECBC.
J-P Nowacki
Managing Director
Stratum
J-P Nowacki is Managing Director at Stratum, a specialist independent trust and corporate services provider, serving the European and global capital markets. Previously, J-P established and led CSC Capital Markets in Europe, turning it into a market leader in a number of jurisdictions, including the UK, Ireland and Luxembourg. J-P has supported numerous specialist lenders in establishing funding structures across multiple asset classes, giving him a practitioner's perspective on how these structures are operated.
Rob Ford
Consulting Advisor
TwentyFour Asset Management
Rory McHugh
CEO & CIO
Lendable Capital Ltd.
Nick Parkhouse
Managing Director and Global Head of Financial Services
Interpath
Interested in joining the Judging Panel? Please contact Mark Lilley, Research Lead, DealCatalyst on mark.lilley@dealcatalyst.io
Table Enquiries
Complete the form below to learn more how to book your table at the awards ceremony,


