Our Services

What do we do?

We offer a full suite of investor relations services for our clients - we have no desire to duplicate any services provided by brokers or that are done in-house; only where we can add value.

1.    Perception Studies / Audits of investor sentiment

A perception study is an in-depth, independent and accurate assessment of investors’ views. It gauges the views of buy and sell side, equity and debt, corporate governance and SRI / CSR officers on all matters of strategic, financial and management issues. It is typically undertaken on an annual basis.

A perception study draws on in-depth attributable interviews with a company’s major equity and debt holders in key capital markets. It sets out to ascertain the understanding of, and attitudes about, a particular company and to assess its standing relative to peer companies and to the equity and debt markets as a whole.

Why do you need to undertake a Perception study?

Shareholders are your single most influential audience and they expect to have the opportunity to discuss their views on a regular basis – its best practice; a core board responsibility and it is essential to manage your relationships effectively with the capital markets. Your shareholders like to know that their views are valued and that you’re listening – it is essential to get your message heard.

Companies do not get enough qualitative feedback from their investor meetings
Investors are often too reticent to be totally honest at their one-to-one meetings with companies, BUT ……………

They do like the opportunity to talk openly, honestly and in-depth to an independent party who talks their language about the issues that concern them.

It provides an invaluable assessment of what they really think – not what they say politely at meetings or to your broker. This detailed feedback from your shareholders provides a useful input into decisions surrounding strategy

It provides early warning signs of any misconceptions or misunderstandings that need to be addressed. The detailed feedback from your shareholders helps to drive the decisions surrounding strategy.

Importantly undertaking a perception study need not be expensive.

Why are our Perception Studies are the best in the market?

We are all former fund managers and broking analysts ourselves so we talk the same language as both the buy and sell side analysts that we meet, ensuring that we get to the bottom of the key issues that really interest them.

We are truly independent with no hidden agenda and work for the best interests of our clients.

We arrange all of the interviews and see the participants face-to-face for about an hour and undertake the meetings ourselves – we do not outsource to researchers. We get attributable feedback and our research is one of the most competitively priced in the market.

We are specialists in this area and undertake many of these studies every year
What topics do we probe?

Our excellent relationships with the buy and sell side and ability to speak the same language with these target audiences ensures that we are able to probe very sensitive issues on behalf of our clients. If you ask a closed question you get a closed answer. We prefer to structure our discussions by using topic headings allowing the participant to take the lead in those issues that are of most interest to them;

•    Strategic decisions – entry into new markets, mergers/demergers
•    Balance Sheet issues – exploring options for releasing shareholder value, buybacks, dividend policy, debt and gearing levels, refinancing
•    Portfolio re-shaping and options for under-performing assets / acquisitions and disposals
•    Board Composition and investor perception of the management team, renumeration policies
•    Management and succession planning
•    Relative valuation and peer group perception
•    Competitor mapping
•    Corporate Governance / CSR/SRI policies
•    Effectiveness of corporate communications

How do our clients use this research?
Our perception studies provide clients with an invaluable and independent assessment of the perceptions of their key buy and sell side audiences on a number of key issues.

They use it as a benchmark of sentiment with which to assess the views of them in the market and assess their investor relations and corporate communications strategy.
It helps them to identify any areas of misconceptions or misunderstandings that need to be addressed within their communications strategy going forward.

It provides an objective method of probing investor views to provide an input into the Board’s decision making process on corporate issues highlighting disclosure or transparency issues.

2.    Investor Relations and Corporate advice

•    Development and implementation of the Investor relations programme
•    Define key messages to buy / sell side for inclusion in results statements, meetings, reports or other announcements.
•    Preparing the presentations for buy and sell side analysts.
•    Provide feedback following both buy and sell side meetings.
•    Aid in preparing companies for pre float – input into investor presentations, assisting with RNS releases and investor roadshows, providing feedback from buy and sell side meetings.

With our extensive experience over the years as investment managers and brokers we are well placed to offer corporate advice to our clients  - whether it be surrounding corporate transactions, mergers, demergers, acquisitions or disposals. We assist clients in their preparation for flotation and then hold their hand through the float process and life as a quoted company. We advise on both primary and secondary debt and equity issues bringing our independent viewpoint to the board.

3.    Share register analysis / proxy solicitation / and other share register services

We use our partner Capita IR for all share register services. Capita IR specialises in share register analysis, Disclosure Letter issuance and maintenance, bespoke IR reporting, and proxy identification and solicitation for UK and international public companies and their advisors. They offer;

•    Disclosure letter issuance including S793 & associated maintenance
•    Bespoke IR reporting
•    Proxy identification and solicitation
•    Specialist project work

Please do contact us with any further queries and we will be happy to answer your query.