B&C Awards 2024: Everything you need to know

The event — in association with West One — will take place in the day, starting at 12:30pm at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham, west London.

Here is everything you need to know about the B&C Awards 2024

When is the event? Thursday, 6th June 2024

Where is it being held? The Hurlingham Club, Fulham

What are the timings?

• 12.30pm — guest arrival and drinks reception, sponsored by Octane Capital

• 1.30pm — welcome and charity presentation

• 2pm — awards part one

• 2:45pm — lunch is served

• 4.30pm — awards part two

• 5.30pm — thanks and post-awards bar opens, sponsored by Octane Capital

• 8.30pm - Carriages

What is the dress code? Strictly black tie 

What is the theme? Alice in Wonderland — guests will be taken down the rabbit hole and transported to a surreal, enchanted world for everyone to get a taste of magic.

Inside or outdoors? Both — we will provide for all weather eventualities.

Do I need an actual invitation to gain entry? No, the security team at the entrance will have a supplied list of those attending.

Here’s the timeline and details regarding our awards process and how you can be in with a chance of winning one of our coveted ‘B’ statues: 

• online voting opens on 30th January. We list the categories and descriptions, and users fill in the form with which companies and individuals they think should make the list. Employees may vote for themselves or their own firm. Obvious spam and fake entries will be filtered. One form per email address can be submitted

• online voting closes on 25th March

• for industry professionals interested in being a judge, we welcome them to apply with a covering letter to be a part of one of our two panels. The details of these panels will be announced in mid-March via B&C. There are two groups: one consisting of brokers and one of lenders, to judge the respective categories fairly

• once online voting has closed, we create a longlist of up to 15 firms in each category, based on the number of online votes submitted. Our judging panel selects up to eight in each, and the collation of these results makes up the official shortlist. This is announced on 2nd April. Some categories have four nominees, and some have more, depending on popularity and how closely contested the voting is

• last year, we enhanced the judging process to bring a more personal and face-to-face element — something the industry is built upon. Due to its resounding success, shortlisted company nominees will have four weeks to submit a five-minute video on why they believe they should win the award(s) they are shortlisted for, to take their nomination forward. Each nominee will be contacted with specific guidance around this. There are never any costs involved for you to pursue the award or, indeed, if you go on to win. Videos can be simply produced on smartphones and will be judged on content, not quality, to level the playing field for firms of all sizes and structures

• on 16th May, our judging panels and chairpeople will meet to decide on the winners. B&C/Medianett Publishing has no voting power, but we are present during the judging process

• shortlisted individual nominees (such as lender relationship manager of the year and underwriter of the year) will be required to be interviewed by the judging panel, who will ask three questions in a 10-minute time slot to determine who is most deserving of the award

• to continue our efforts on reducing paper waste, voting is done digitally and anonymously on the day. Any tiebreaks will be discussed between the chairpeople and B&C/Medianett Publishing 

• once the winners have been determined, we get on with engraving their names on our gold gongs and finalising plans for the event itself

What makes a winning entry?

Our judges represent a good cross section of the specialist finance market, and we rely on their knowledge and experience during the process to reach an outcome that is fair and correct.

Videos (of three minutes) supplied should go into sufficient detail as to why your firm should win that specific accolade, paying close attention to the descriptions we have published and ticking those ‘boxes’. We want to hear why you are different from your peers and the other nominees in the category. 

Consider showcasing your best deals, how you’ve gone above and beyond expectations, the calibre of your team, how you’ve grown and evolved over the past 12 months, and how you contribute to the wider industry’s success.

In such a competitive space, knowing how to convincingly present your USP is of the utmost importance. Video submissions should not be any longer than five minutes, and no additional supporting material may be included, to create as level a playing field as possible.

Individual nominees (underwriter and relationship manager categories, for example) will be contacted with 10-time slots and details to be interviewed during Judging Day. These categories are highly contested each year, and our judges will be listening to them personally to determine why they should win. 

Tickets

Tables, individual seats, and sponsorship opportunities are now on sale, although we are limited. In you’d like to join us on 6th June, please contact Beth Fisher or Megan Goncalves on [email protected] and [email protected] as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.