Patrick Abel, partner at PKF, who scooped the title at the second Insider South Yorkshire Dealmaker's Dinner, paid tribute to Chris Sellars, head of corporate finance at Hart Shaw accountants.

Hart Shaw acted on many of the region's largest deals last year, including the management buyout of ESS which was named Deal of the Year. The Sheffield-based practice was also shortlisted for the corporate finance advisory firm of the year award.

Patrick, who worked for the opposite party on the ESS deal, said: "It's testament to the value of the corporate finance teams in South Yorkshire that we could complete such a deal as ESS on our own and in such a time frame.

"But I am also glad we could work with Chris Sellars and his professional team.

"We were up against trade buyers here– there was interest from as far away as Texas– but we managed to model a deal that was right for everybody."

Chris Sellars said: "The last year has been hugely successful for the practice and was rounded off by a record-breaking month for the corporate finance team during which we were lead advisers on some major transactions, including the ESS deal.

"The dealmakers dinner was a shining example of the strength of the corporate finance sector in our region."