The IR Society Best Practice Awards
Tuesday 26 November 2024
Promoting best practice for 24 years
The 24th Annual IR Society Best Practice Awards took place on Tuesday 26 November 2024. Congratulations to the winners!
View the shortlists and winners of each award category using the individual links above.
See the photo highlights here and the full gallery here - credit to Joe Howarth Photography.
These prestigious Awards celebrate the achievements of companies demonstrating their commitment to delivering best-in-class investor engagement. The Awards, which are judged by an independent panel of esteemed investor relations and investment community professionals, comprise both Self-entry and Voted Awards.
Self-entries have been submitted for awards rewarding best practice in investor relations in the following five categories:
- Best Communication of Sustainability
- Best Innovation in IR
- Best Corporate Website
- Best Annual Report
- Best IR Programme
For the Voted Awards, which recognise excellence in individual and team investor relations, the IR Society is delighted to, once again, be working in partnership with Extel, as it seeks to address a wider audience and voting universe. Awards will be presented for:
- Best Newcomer to IR (individual)
- Best IRO (individual)
- Best Overall Company IR (company)
- Best Investor Engagement (investor)
2023 Awards Highlights
Fundamentally, investors want honesty in corporate reporting, and in this very difficult year, more than ever that's what people will want, will respect and will be looking for.
Companies should be entering these awards. If you're not already proud of your reporting, well, improve it so you are. If you are already proud of your reporting, then of course, you should be entering
Paul Lee
Chair of the Judging Panel
Our sponsors
As always, we would like to thank our sponsors and suppporters, without whom so many of our activities would not be possible. See the 2024 sponsors below.
For 54 years, Extel's (formerly Institutional Investor Research) highly recognised survey-based research has produced an independent evaluation of quality across key markets and stakeholder groups – with rankings for top global sell-side research teams and corporate executives setting the industry standard, with a global presence spanning Europe, Emerging EMEA, Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America.
Extel conducts independent research surveys with global investment and sell-side professionals who evaluate and determine the best performing CEOs, CFOs, IROs and IR Programs across these regions. The survey results provide an independent performance validation of IR activities and Executives relative to specific sector and country peers based on multiple assessment criteria and metrics. The market intelligence identifies best practices and empowers greater productivity and efficiency through targeted IR team collaboration and directional guidance for C-Suite investor outreach. It also enables IR to deploy these actionable insights to optimise and improve its strategic positioning based on the direct feedback and assessment by specific stakeholder demographics and prospects.
www.extelinsights.com
Workiva offers the world’s only unified platform for assured integrated reporting. The Workiva platform brings together financial reporting, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) teams in one secure, controlled, audit-ready environment to simplify complex reporting challenges and meet stakeholder demands for action, transparency, and disclosure of financial and non-financial data. Learn more at workiva.com/uk
The Small Cap Network was inaugurated in 2013 to facilitate relationships, one of the key foundations to success and growth, for leaders and advisers of companies quoted on Aim or Aquis (formerly NEX, ISDX, PLUS-SX).
The network is based on the premise that meeting people builds trust and creates new areas of thinking and opportunity. Events include speakers and thought leaders in the Small Cap sector who have succeeded in building or helped to build successful companies using public markets.
Our annual Small Cap Awards honour exceptional achievements of smaller quoted companies in the UK. This prestigious and glamourous event connects leaders and participants in the sub £350m UK Market Cap Quoted Companies Sector, promoting trust and encouraging innovation.
Invicomm is a creative communications consultancy committed to building inspiring and impactful brands, digital experiences and investor communications.
Since 2013 we have delivered excellent client service and exceptional creative solutions that challenge the obvious. We are trusted by organisations of all sizes to guide them through times of transformation. We do this by helping to articulate their purpose, evolve their identity, and communicate effectively across all channels ensuring stakeholders are aligned with the organisation’s purpose and ambitions.
In short, we create invincible communications that protect and build brands and reputations.
Strategic communications, creatively delivered.
www.invicomm.agency
Black Sun Global is a stakeholder advisory and engagement agency that's been driving transformation and positive change for ambitious brands for more than 20 years. With deep expertise in disclosure and reporting, ESG, sustainability, and digital engagement, we reshape how organisations connect with customers, investors, employees, and the wider world.
We are trusted partners to some of the most influential global organisations, sparking innovation and sustainable performance through our strategic insights, partnerships, and proprietary technologies.
As founders of the Positive Change Group, we are on a mission to create a new kind of stakeholder relations partner.
For more information visit: www.blacksun-global.com
Q4 Inc. is the first IR Ops Platform with the world’s largest set of proprietary investor data, purpose-built to remove obstacles between public companies and their investors. Q4 gives investor relations leaders and their teams the tools to attract, manage, and understand investors — all in one place. The AI- enabled Q4 Platform boasts applications for website and event management, engagement analytics, and earnings lifecycle management, including AI Earnings Co-Pilot to generate draft scripts based on historical data, and AI earnings call summaries to understand peer sentiment. The platform also includes a streamlined investor CRM and shareholder intelligence with enhanced metrics to elevate investor targeting strategies. Q4 delivers the data, insights, and workflows that give IR teams the power to focus on what really matters: strategy, relationships, and driving premium valuations for their companies. Learn more at www.q4inc.com.
QuantiFire helps companies build confidence in capital markets by better understanding the needs and interests of their investor communities.
We have developed systematic and wholly reimagined approaches to obtaining and analysing investor meeting interest, feedback, and perception, as data and at scale.
For investors, our service engages them as carefully targeted individuals using innovative protocols that respect their time and privacy, whilst improving user experience.
For companies, we provide light-touch solutions that leverage technology at every stage, to generate premium insights and Board-ready analytics.
www.quantifire.co.uk
Insight as a Service for IR, ESG and Boards.
ingage designs, builds and licences specialist Investor Relations (IR) software in a subscription model. Building on traditional IR CRM, the ingage platform is a comprehensive Investor Relations software suite that helps power world class equity and debt IR, Sustainability and CoSec teams at quoted and unquoted corporate issuers globally.
www.ingage.com
S&P Global Market Intelligence is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), the world’s foremost provider of financial information and services to the capital markets. Trusted by more than 2,500 corporate issuers, our market-leading data and expertise drive workflows across your organization so you can effectively monitor the markets, obtain, and retain shareholders, manage stock valuation, and decrease volatility — all from a trusted source dedicated to investor relations. For more information, visit Issuer Solutions | S&P Global Market Intelligence (spglobal.com).
S&P Global has been providing essential intelligence that unlocks opportunity, fosters growth, and accelerates progress for more than 160 years.
Notified is committed to making it easy for brands to create and share powerful stories with the world. Our suite of world-class IR communications solutions and our dedicated customer service team are relied upon by more than 10,000 global customers, from growing businesses and public companies to some of the world’s most recognizable brands.
We help companies effectively share and amplify their stories to investors, customers, employees, and the media with a suite of integrated solutions that includes:
- GlobeNewswire press release distribution & regulatory filing
- IR websites
- Earnings calls & webcasts
- Investor days
- ESG communications
- Whistleblower hotline
To learn more, visit Notified.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Deutsche Bank’s Depositary Receipts team is part of the Trust &Agency Services business within the Corporate Bank. In addition to specialising in administering cross-border equity structures such as American and Global Depositary Receipts, Deutsche Bank provides corporates, financial institutions, hedge funds and supranational agencies around the world with trustee, agency, escrow and related services. The bank offers a broad range of services for a diverse set of products, from complex securitisations and project finance to syndicated loans, debt exchanges and restructurings. The bank provides commercial and investment banking, retail banking, transaction banking and asset and wealth management products and services to corporations, governments, institutional investors, small and medium-sized businesses, and private individuals. Deutsche Bank is Germany’s leading bank, with a strong position in Europe and a significant presence in the Americas and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit: https://adr.db.com
The Investor Relations Society’s mission is to promote best practice in investor relations; to support the professional development of its members; to represent their views to regulatory bodies, the investment community and government; and to act as a forum for issuers and the investment community.
Our vision is to be the focal point in the UK for investor relations practice and IR professionals and to promote best practice in investor relations generally.
www.irsociety.org.uk
Powerful storytelling drives a sound valuation.
We craft clear, memorable narratives that connect with stakeholders, empowering informed decisions for long-term success. Whether it's an annual report, corporate website, sustainability report, or brand identity, we ensure your message is impactful and cohesive.
Our expertise in design, branding, and investor relations brings your story to life in ways that best suit your audience, helping stakeholders see your business's true value.
By developing your reputation, we work towards a valuation that reflects your market potential. Together, we create lasting partnerships and narratives that grow with your business.
www.jonesandpalmer.co.uk
RMS Partners is an investor relations adviser focused on providing PLCs with time efficient and effective investor engagement solutions. We help companies develop bespoke, measurable investor access programmes, build and maintain targeted long-term buy-side relationships, as well as providing a range of consultancy services customised to individual corporate requirements.
Investor Roadshows – RMS Partners specialises in arranging targeted investor roadshows with Institutions, Private Client Fund Managers and Regional Pension Funds. Notable firms are frequently overlooked, but with over 3,000 active fund managers at more than 200 investment houses in the UK, these investors form a valuable pool of liquidity, incrementally support the share price and can often hold c.10% of a share register.
Investor Targeting & Analysis – With over 50 years’ experience in equity capital markets, the RMS Partners team is well positioned to provide relevant insight to your share register and prospective shareholder targets. Our investor targeting analytics ensures efficient and effective use of management time.
For 54 years, Extel's (formerly Institutional Investor Research) highly recognised survey-based research has produced an independent evaluation of quality across key markets and stakeholder groups – with rankings for top global sell-side research teams and corporate executives setting the industry standard, with a global presence spanning Europe, Emerging EMEA, Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America.
Extel conducts independent research surveys with global investment and sell-side professionals who evaluate and determine the best performing CEOs, CFOs, IROs and IR Programs across these regions. The survey results provide an independent performance validation of IR activities and Executives relative to specific sector and country peers based on multiple assessment criteria and metrics. The market intelligence identifies best practices and empowers greater productivity and efficiency through targeted IR team collaboration and directional guidance for C-Suite investor outreach. It also enables IR to deploy these actionable insights to optimise and improve its strategic positioning based on the direct feedback and assessment by specific stakeholder demographics and prospects.
www.extelinsights.com
The London Stock Exchange Issuer Services platform is our digital offering, dedicated to IR teams. We are the only Exchange to give companies the ability to customise their profile page on our website, allowing them to tell their story to investors. All issuers on our market have unlimited access to the data that we offer including global ESG data, Reuters News, global deals data (covering equity, debt and M&A) and millions of sell-side research notes. Our clients can also access both institutional and retail investors through our webcasting platform SparkLive, distributed through LSEG Refinitiv Desktops and the London Stock Exchange website.
Make sure that you have your log-in details by contacting us at: issuersupport@lseg.com.
Congratulations to all nominees!
J.P. Morgan’s Corporate & Investment Bank is a global leader across banking, markets and securities services. The world’s most important corporations, governments and institutions entrust us with their business in more than 100 countries. The Corporate & Investment Bank provides strategic advice, raises capital, manages risk and extends liquidity in markets around the world.
www.jpmorgan.com/global
Our focus is to provide clients with a suite of products and services that enable them to maximise the opportunity of public ownership, and to reap the benefits of good investor relations.
Supporting over 1,600 issuers, Orient Capital are the largest analyser of share registers globally and the dominant provider of ownership analytics to listed companies in multiple markets. We identify and track our clients’ shareholders, as well as their behaviour, using either local ownership disclosure provisions or our own proprietary methodologies, which include leveraging our extensive global relationships with custodians and investors. We achieve this with the support of miraqle, our CRM platform, bringing transparency and structure to your IR strategy with efficient and accurate identification, profiling, management, targeting and more through a database of over 68,000 contacts and 14,000 institutions.
We turn this quality analysis into valuable, up-to-date insights, whilst our complementary services, such as webcasting, perception studies and targeting exercises, further enable direct intelligence to support an effective IR programme and company strategy. Find out more on www.orientcap.com
Our specialist D.F. King proxy solicitation and debt issuer services team work on over 450 projects a year to support global meeting advisory and restructuring requirements. Orient Capital and D.F. King are part of MUFG Corporate Markets, a division of MUFG Pension & Market Services.
Modular Finance is a fintech company that develops software products for the capital markets. Our products deliver top-tier data, intuitive user experiences, and all the features you need. We proudly serve over 700 publicly listed companies and have a comprehensive offering for Investor Relations professionals.
Products for Investor Relations
• Monitor – IR Platform
• MFN – Regulatory Announcements Platform
• Datablocks – IR Web Modules
• Estimates – Consensus Estimate Service
• Strictlog – Insider List System
Companies that build stakeholder capital are more resilient and more successful. They are better able to navigate the ever-changing, never stopping dynamic of shareholder and stakeholder interests.
At Sodali & Co, we’re in the business of making a difference. The difference between failure and success.
We do this by providing the strategic advice, expertise, information and technology that our corporate clients around the world need to create value and win the hearts and minds of stakeholders. We are there by your side when you need to make critical decisions that enhance performance and build sustainable economic and societal value.
About Sodali & Co | Strategic Advice & Shareholder Services
EQ RD:IR is a global investor relations support provider offering a wide range of IR-related analysis, research & advisory services to over 750 UK & international public companies. From conducting share register analysis to finding new investors across the globe, our services help you understand the market’s perception of your stock and provide unconflicted investor relations advice and strategies. To find out more about identifying and reacting to investor insights for your business, contact our team at Will.Furzer@equiniti.com.
