After years of entering awards Sparke Helmore Lawyers has turned the tables on their heads and launched their own awards for small to medium sized enterprises.

The firm has launched the inaugural Australian Growth Company Awards to reward and acknowledge the growth of companies within the mid market, and to strengthen ties with those within it. The brain child of partner and head of our corporate Nick Humphrey, the award winners will be announced tonight in Sydney.

Humphrey said the idea came to him as a result of working with the sector for many years and not seeing a suitable awards program. “I felt that no awards program gives the mid market (A$20 million to A$250 million) the recognition that the market deserves,” said Humphrey.  “It was about taking stock and having a look at those people who had been able to manage growth.”

Humphreys and the firm’s award partners were “overwhelmed” by the response they had to the awards further cementing Humphrey’s idea. The awards have received more than 120 nominations, which when combined represent turnover of approximately A$12.5 billion. “We have attracted companies from all different sectors,” said Humphreys. “At the end of the day all these companies have all had extraordinary growth over a number of years.”

As a legal advisor to some of the nominees Humphrey said the main issue facing companies in the sector was the access and availability of capital or debt to fund future growth. “That is the single greatest challenge that I have seen,” he said.

Humphrey added that the firm would be looking to host the awards again next year and that those involved had learnt a lot through the organisation process.

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ALB Australasian Law Awards 2012 - Winners 24 May 2012