A dealmaker and entrepreneurial power couple have won top accolades at a prestigious awards ceremony.

Nik Askaroff, founder and chief executive of EMC Corporate Finance, based in Hove, was named dealmaker of the year at the Insider South East Dealmakers’ Awards 2015.

Rod and Sheila Flavell, chief executive and chief operating officer of global IT services provider FDM Group, founded in Brighton, were jointly recognised as entrepreneurs of the year.

Judges said of Nik: “As well as possessing a shrewd eye for successful dealmaking…it is Nik’s ability to bring deals from London to the regional corporate advisory community that sets him apart.”

EMC’s highlights of the past year include the sale of Lewes illustrated publisher Ilex Press to the Octopus Publishing Group, the acquisition of Aspect Health Management by Posturite, and the sale of Essex-based PaySuite Ltd to $3 billion American corporation Intuit Inc.

Rod and Sheila were praised for their commitment to staff development, driving gender diversity in the workplace given the shortage of women in the IT industry and helping the transition of ex-military personnel into a second career in the commercial world. The award recognised FDM’s growth transformation since it was founded in 1991 as a recruitment start-up to a global company and Britain’s largest listed IT services provider and IT graduate employer.