We are pleased to announce Abhijai Tripathi, Desmond Chen, Michael Lin and Mujtaba Hasan, from the University of Sheffield, as the winners of our fifth annual Private Equity Challenge.

Over 150 students from Leeds University Union Trading & Investment Society, University of Sheffield Investment Society and Manchester University Trading & Investment Society, participated in this year’s challenge to learn more about the world of private equity and gain first-hand experience of the investment process.

Over the course of six lectures, speakers from NorthEdge, Deloitte, Clearwater and PwC covered topics on each stage of a transaction process, from origination to the final investment pitch. Having impressed throughout the challenge, three teams were invited to a mock investment committee at the NorthEdge offices earlier this week to present their investment thesis on a real-life case study from the NorthEdge portfolio.

All teams were highly commended for their efforts after making a brilliant impression with their presentations and submitting fantastic report papers. However, after a lot of deliberation, the team from Sheffield University were awarded first place. The judges were particularly impressed with their outstanding teamwork and cohesion, with every team member making a significant contribution during the presentation. They also showed excellent attention to detail, with a deep understanding of the key areas of focus and points of due diligence for Investment Committee to consider.

Sam Allen, Investment Manager at NorthEdge, who led the challenge said: “This year we have been delighted to see a record number of students participate in the challenge. Throughout each exercise, the teams have continued to impress us with their levels of teamwork, strategic thinking and attention to detail. As one of the few university challenges of its type in the UK, it’s another example of NorthEdge’s commitment to encourage a wider and more diverse set of talent into the Private Equity industry. We’re already looking forward to next year, where we are aiming to widen the challenge out to more Universities across our regions.”

We would also like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of our speakers, who gave up their time to give students a well-rounded experience of the investment process.