Triumphs at Solent Business Awards 2018

Huge congratulations to Diametric Limited, for winning SME of the year and Mark Hepburn of 23.5 degrees for winning CEO of the year at the Solent Business Awards 2018.

Meridian has worked closely with Diametric and 23.5 degrees for the past few years and couldn’t be happier with the result.

In 2015, Meridian oversaw the management buy-out of Diametric, the UK’s leading badging and branding specialist. Since then, Meridian and Diametric have worked closely together in ensuring the best progression for the company. This has comprised of a position on the board, a restructuring of the shareholding and bringing in new members of the management team. Their win at the Solent Business Awards is a culmination of the Diametric team’s hard work. Philip commented , “ Since I joined the Board after the original MBO in 2015, Diametric has gone through a period of growth that has seen profits double in only two years. This award recognises the hard work and dedication of the management team, and their focus on continued delivery of market leading products and exceptional service to their customers. We look forward to building on these achievements with the company’s first-class management team over the coming years and continuing to work with the Board to deliver great results for many years to come.”

As well as this, the CEO of 23.5 degrees, Mark Hepburn, won CEO of the year. The world’s first Starbucks franchise partner received transaction advice from Meridian in 2015 and 2018 on their growth funding package. Commenting on the result, Mike said, “We were able to support Mark at a very early stage, securing development funding from Connection Capital to embark on this ambitious journey. Having personally contributed to the funding, we bought into his vision and invested at both investment rounds. We are absolutely delighted to see him win this prestigious award, it is extremely well deserved.”