Nice to see the launch of the Bridging and Commercial Awards 2012 last week which shares its occasion with England vs France in Euro '12. I'm sure that Monday 11th June 2012 will be more remarkable for the events of Chiswell Street, London than that of Donetsk sadly. I am really pleased that ‘The Paul’s’ from Borro.com are the main headline sponsor at this; what would we all do without them I say?

Looking down the list of categories I have already focused on what we at Brightstar would dearly love to win. That said, the competition this year is at an all-time high so maybe we will just contend ourselves with having a good afternoon in what is guaranteed to be the hottest day of the year, as it always is!

For me, one of the biggest categories is Outstanding Contribution to Bridging and Commercial Finance 2012. Although the list of people below isn't exhaustive, these are some of the early favorites…

The Bookies Favorite – Jonathan Samuels, Dragonfly Property Finance:

The bridging industry’s very own James Bond remains a front runner for his excellent stewardship of the largest short term lender in the UK, Dragonfly. In the past 12 months they have grown their market share and won pretty much every industry award along the way.

The Peter Mandelson of Bridging – Mark Posniak, Dragonfly Property Finance:

Behind every successful bridging company there is a South African! Pozy is aman for every occasion. Very few people can work the trade press as as he does and Dragonfly’s excellent rebrand, that he was instrumental in, has been a significant factor for their success.

The Unsung Hero – Andrew Bloom, Masthaven:

What a 12 months Masthaven have had; Pears investment, FSA authorisation, industry awards and Saffron Building Society funding to name a few. Andrew has also been involved in the safe conviction of a huge fraudring, going undercover in the process. He has been at the sharp end ofbridging for a decade now and isn’t it finally time to acknowledge this?

The Duracell Bunny – Marc Goldberg, Lancashire:

Marc Goldberg remains one of the, if not the most passionate and driven people in the whole industry. how many times can one man get 'if I can do anything to help you just call me’ into a phone converation? Marc has kept Lancashire at the forefront of the bridging world and has a whole army of followers in the industry.

Mr Bouncebackability - Steve Nicholas, Tiuta:

This time last year the ‘jungle drums’ were beating very loudly about whether the hitherto largest bridger in the UK would survive. A year later, they are still  here, completing on a series of huge deals and giving out arguably the best incentives in the industry. Steve has managed to keep a functional business despite losing a whole host of the industries finest to his competitiors.

The New Kid on the Block – Duncan Kreeger, West One Loans:

Duncan is a young, bright, driven entrepreneur with more self-belief than even Mo Mulki. In the past year, he has secured a number of genuine 'bridging stars' and his business now appears to be in rude health. Not only has be run the NYC Marathon in November, got married but he has turned his outfit into one ofthe brightest stars in the bridging universe.

The Silver Fox – Colin Sanders, Omni Capital:

The housewife’s choice has got to be Colin Sanders. He is good looking, funny, charming and popular but also runs a dynamic lender in Omni Capital. Although when compared to his peers, Sanders is a relatively 'new boy' to bridging, his list of achievements in a relatively short space of time has been outstanding.

The Daddy – Roger Morris, Precise Mortgages:

If there was an award for most popular man in the industry there would onlyneed to be a short list of one; Roger Morris pure and simple. Roger remains the most positive man I have ever met and this remains Precise's most potent weapon in securing market share. Rog has done everything to try and make his brand a market leader including some 3,000 miles plus a month in his ‘mean green driving machine’.

In summary, these are just a few of what I think are the front runners for this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Bridging Award. If you don't agree that's absolutely fine, just vote for whoever you feel deserves this more. Next week, I intend looking at the BDM section of the 2012 Awards; will it be a Gareth Lewis back to back?