The funeral has taken place for legendary North West dealmaker Andy Thomas.
Thomas, whose career included spells at Maven Capital Partners and, more recently, YFM Equity Partners, died in May after a long battle with cancer.
He joined YFM in 2017 and, over nine years, became one of the most respected figures in the North West investment community.
A spokesman said: “He led investments in Protein Works, Unbiased, Biorelate, Fuuse and E2E, an enviable track record by any measure.
“He was also instrumental in building the foundations of our North West business into what it is today.
“But beyond the investments, Andy was simply a good person. Generous, thoughtful, and someone who made YFM a better place to work.
“We’re all feeling his loss deeply. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone who was lucky enough to know him.”
Michael Gibson, CEO of Lancaster-based Fuuse, said: “He was a thoroughly decent man. Always grateful for the messages after our investment and for staying in touch. It meant a huge amount.”
Ian McLeod Kerr, CEO and founder of Fuuse, said: “Such a gentleman and a lovely man.”
His wife, Mia Hailwood, described him as ‘my beautiful, brave husband’ in a social media post last month that broke the news of his death.
He was first diagnosed with a rare type of cancer – known as olfactory neuroblastoma – in 2017 after he began suffering with the symptoms of what he thought was a heavy cold.
“When I first got it I’d actually had it for ages and not realised,” he told BusinessCloud in 2024. “I’d been suffering from what I thought was a cold, and then thought was sinusitis, and then chronic sinusitis – when actually it was a large tumour that had been blocking my naval cavity.
“We all get so wrapped up in how we busy we are and self medicate because we haven’t got time to go to the doctors – or at least that’s what I did.
“I’m not saying it would have made any difference to me, but honestly those emails and video calls can probably wait a few hours while you get properly checked out.”