At the European Private Equity Awards in Paris last night, 3i, Europe's leading venture capital and private equity house won two awards - House of the Year and Large Deal of the Year.

The House of the Year award was given in recognition of the firm''s success in pushing its international and strategic frontiers forward in 2005, with office openings in both China and India. 3i was also applauded for the £762m returns generated from its portfolio and the £1bn invested in the 12 months to 31 March 2005.

3i also won the Large Deal of the Year award for Yellow Brick Road (YBR), the pan European directories business. This was for 3i and investors in the funds'' merger of three existing portfolio companies for a total of €870m to create YBR. Earlier this year 3i and investors sold the YBR Group for €1.8bn, generating a net IRR of more than 100% for 3i.

Commenting on the awards, Phil Yea, 3i Chief Executive said: "We are delighted to win these awards, which are a great testament to our investment teams and the contribution that 3i makes to the private equity industry. We have had a great year and we continue to build on our success throughout our international operations."

The awards which are in their third year are organised by the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, INSEAD and Real Deals magazine. They acknowledge and celebrate the excellence demonstrated in 2005 by winners in ten categories.