The Company, an international specialist fund services group, has a clear strategy for growth with significant expansion opportunities amongst its current client base and an opportunity to tap into larger funds via its existing network. Its London listing will support these growth ambitions.

Buchanan was engaged to implement a communications strategy for the IPO, supporting the brokers, lawyers and Company in its RNS drafting and comms collateral. Buchanan assisted with the Company’s external communication to its key stakeholders via the media and through the creation of an investor website.

Buchanan provided media training to key spokespeople and put together a compelling equity story which helped secure supportive attention for the investment case and KPIs of the Group through widespread media coverage.

Buchanan organised an exclusive with The Sunday Telegraph, which featured prominently in both the paper and online. This was followed by supportive commentary from other tier 1 media, newswires, investment focused titles and the trade press.

Buchanan successfully implemented the investor website, a first point of call for current and future investors.

The completion of the IPO was especially satisfying given the challenging equity capital market conditions seen in 2023 and the difficulties faced by other corporates in trying to succeed with a primary fundraising.

AWEM was the first premium listed IPO in the investment companies sector since November 2021 and the first listed equities-focused investment trust launched since 2018.

The company is seeking to achieve long-term capital growth, primarily through investing in equities that provide exposure to Global Emerging Markets.

Buchanan achieved a substantial amount of supportive media coverage during the offer period, educating and informing key sector commentators across a wide variety of media outlets including the Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, Citywire, Investment Trust Newsletter, Shares, Interactive Investor and many more.

This helped the company gain traction with private investors on retail investment platforms AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown.

This demand played no small part in helping AWEM reach the required funding commitment to list on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

There were several headwinds to navigate during the process, not least the cautious investor sentiment around new listings, highlighted by the fact that there was not a single investment company IPO in 2022.

Buchanan conducted a materiality assessment, stakeholder engagements and a mapping exercise, and extensively reviewed the existing Company documents and disclosures. It then developed the narrative of the Review to emphasise the policies and practices of the Company, with particular focus upon its investment due diligence process, corporate governance, and approach to climate risk.

The Review was developed in accordance with global standards, disclosing sector-specific metrics as recommended by SASB, adopting the targets of the UN SDGs, setting out a roadmap for TCFD alignment and embarking on both qualitative and quantitative scenario analysis to meet the expected disclosures of oil & gas companies through the energy transition.

In order to maximise the potential of these essential characteristics and meaningfully contribute to the success of an investment company IPO, a carefully planned and proactive PR campaign is required to target the full expanse of investor targets.

Having the experience of so many successful investment company launches, as well as our considerable sector expertise, provides Buchanan with the insight to advise on a broad aspect of the flotation process and support as a sounding board to our clients.

This advisory includes strategic counsel, careful crafting of the investment thesis, intermediary engagement and company announcements – not least the critical ‘intention to float’ declaration and IPO roadshow material.

May 2023
Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets Trust:
£30.5m raised;
Broker Ellora Partners

November 2021
Life Science REIT:
£350m raised;
Brokers Panmure Gordon and Jefferies

May 2021
Aquila Energy Efficiency:
£100m raised;
Broker Peel Hunt

May 2021
Taylor Maritime Investments:
$253.7m raised;
Broker Jefferies

Burson Buchanan helped the company to establish a strong governance framework with the establishment of an ESG Committee and ESG steering group along with terms of reference. Meeting on a monthly basis, Buchanan supports the committee with briefing papers on developments in sustainability regulation and voluntary best practice disclosure as well as attending executive meetings in a retained advisory capacity.

Burson Buchanan helped the company establish its ESG Policy and disclosure framework, drawing on stakeholder perceptions and using the internationally recognised frameworks of the Global Reporting Initiative, UNSDGs and the Metals & Mining supplement of the Sustainability Standards Accounting Board to measure performance.

Having set in place the disclosure framework, Burson Buchanan worked with the executive team to gather key performance indicators and draft content that captured operational progress. An important component of the company’s reporting is the presentation of the underlying geo-political and economic drivers that are impacting the market for critical raw materials and underpin the sustainable investment thesis of the company.

In addition to Annual Reports, Burson Buchanan has now produced two Responsible Business Reports for Norge Mining, each building on the company’s commitments to a low carbon development of Critical Raw Materials that are looking the meet the resource security agenda of the EU and support essential food production requirements and decarbonisation technologies. Burson Buchanan is a permanent member of their ESG Working Group and attendee of ESG Committee meetings.

In delivering this integrated suite of communications, we provided content development, design, and production. Notable features within the project included the scripting, storyboarding, art-direction and editing of a new corporate movie and series of management interviews for the website.

We have continued to provide best practice advisory to Rank on its sustainability reporting. In anticipation of incoming regulation on sustainability disclosure, we carried out a double materiality assessment. This not only enhances the Group’s ability to manage sustainability risks and seize opportunities, but also positions Rank effectively to meet future regulatory requirements. The in-depth assessment considered both impact materiality and financial materiality, thereby assessing the Group’s impact externally on society and the environment, as well as the financial implications of identified risks and opportunities for the business.

Burson Buchanan has also supported the Group in the development and articulation of its Net Zero Pathway, as well as continuing to deliver its mandatory reporting on climate-related governance, strategy, and risk management.

The team worked with Rank to develop a new concept for its corporate website that reflects the Group’s purpose, ‘to excite and to entertain’. Video interviews with key members of the team helped deliver Rank’s story in a dynamic and accessible way, whilst the new design puts Rank’s brands front and centre. The Annual and Sustainability reports reflect this elevated design, providing a cohesive reporting suite.

This communications programme has provided Rank with a progressive platform of consistent corporate information to engage audiences across a range of channels.

Buchanan played an important role in its transition to a public company. We not only delivered a successful IPO (the largest on AIM that year) but also gave the management team the hands-on support and guidance to move them from a family-run, private business, to a listed entity, meeting the regulatory and stakeholder obligations required.

Our capital markets strategy focussed on educating a broad range of investors, sell side analysts and media on the strengths of the student accommodation market, creating interest in the story and demand for shares in the aftermarket from day one.

Whilst landing tier-1 coverage in the Financial Times, The Times, Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard, Buchanan was also able to use our relationships with the FT to create widely accessible digital content – a short Lex video featuring Jonathan Ely, Lex writer and Oliver Ralph, Deputy Head of Lex at the time – that discussed the prospects of UK student market and found an international audience.

As Watkin Jones moved into new operational areas, Buchanan’s support evolved alongside it, successfully positioning the company as a market leader as they developed their ‘Build to Rent’ and ‘Affordable Housing’ assets whilst dealing with a changing management team and Board.

We expanded our advisory to integrated ESG communications, placing the Company on the radar of larger investment banks and helping them to achieve the Best European ESG Materiality Reporting Award in 2022.

By being creative and dynamic with our advice and support we have made the most of the tangible markets Watkin Jones operates in, regularly taking investors, analysts and media to visit sites and see for themselves how projects are evolving.

This approach has helped build a broad range of interested and loyal stakeholders who support the Company through the inevitable challenges it faces. For example, in September 2022 as both the UK economy and public markets hit one of the worst periods of volatility and uncertainty since 2008, Watkin Jones was forced to acknowledge that interest rate rises would impact financial performance.

When the Company issued a trading statement to update the market, the CEO and CFO were able to leverage these carefully cultivated relationships with key analysts and journalists to ensure balanced coverage and an appreciation of longer-term growth prospects.

As the market recovers, these connections and underlying fundamentals of the investment case will help support a rebuilding of the valuation.

The Urban Logistics team had both the appetite to grow the company and the expertise to go with it, with big plans to increase market share and market capitalisation in a highly specialised area of the property sector: investing in mid-sized urban logistics buildings to tenants which distribute essential goods to the ‘last mile’ of the supply chain to homes and businesses. This is an indispensable part of the supply chain and demand for such properties vastly exceeds supply. Urban Logistics is the only listed business giving investors a ‘pure play’ exposure to these vital logistics assets across the UK. Their expertise was honed by the team’s lengthy track record of specific logistics experience within the broader real estate market.

Buchanan led and implemented a highly effective programme of engagement and education focused on key media, stakeholders and sector analysts with the intention of generating greater understanding, awareness and interest in Urban’s business model and activity.

Working in partnership with management and others we embarked on a mission to reposition the company, overhauling Urban’s language and collateral, promoting its specific expertise, the simplicity of its pure play business model, the expertise of its management team and its approach to growth and value-add asset management.

The growth which Urban Logistics has achieved over the past three years is nothing short of spectacular.

The Company has driven growth through smart acquisitions, powered by capital fundraisings, and underpinned its new stature with a move from AIM to the Main Market. Buchanan has supported the Company throughout with its strategic focussed and tactically wide-ranging programme of sharpening the way Urban tells its story, and taking that story to the right analysts and journalists.

Urban now enjoys all the benefits associated with a significantly improved media and analyst profile and is a recognised and respected leader in its sector.

More than that, Urban stands on its own as a competitive force – its unique points of differentiation, expertise and growth path all clearly understood not only by those inside the company, but also, crucially, by those outside.

This has enabled the company to raise capital more rapidly, attract new investment and make valuable acquisitions to enhance its portfolio.

Initially, we conducted interviews with internal and external stakeholders to gauge perceptions of the organisation. Secondly, we reviewed peer brands, visually and verbally, to better understand the landscape and space into which Record was repositioning. This provided a crucial baseline informing the third stage; which aspects of the current brand would be retained and which required attention.

Our process in refining these aspects was collaborative and iterative. We worked in close partnership with a core team at Record to scrutinise all aspects of the brand; from fundamentals like the company name and values through to implementation details like imagery styling and colour palette.

The culmination of this process was the delivery of a new logo from which an entire visual framework emanated. The implementation of this new identity was outlined in a brand guideline document which detailed the revised brand framework, a vital tone of voice to reflect Record’s strategic objectives of modernisation and diversification.

Buchanan had worked with Haroon and Farouq the founding brothers since their float in 2005, so when they approached us to help commemorate their 25 years in business, we were delighted to get the brief to write and produce an anniversary book – the book would include the CareTech history, key events, a focus on the business inception and growth – interviews with past and present staff and affiliates, plus, a brief background to the Sheikh family.

It was our plan that the process be as collaborative as possible and so at every step we’d share our progress with Haroon and Farouq. Given the breadth of resources and multiple stakeholders contributing to the book the planning and co-ordination needed to be smooth and time efficient. Following a six-step process of discovery, structure, creation, implementation, proofing and production we were able to devise a project schedule and timeline for delivery – which was their CareTech awards ceremony four months from kick-off. We would begin with an audit of existing assets both digital and physical, through to content creation; interviews and storyboarding, writing and design, page turns and proofing to wet proofs and print production.

We created a +140 page silver anniversary hardback book capturing the Group’s story from establishment in 1993 to the nationwide network it is today. We commissioned both words and images to celebrate the people and events that were integral to the Group’s 25-year journey. Our purpose for the book was to chart a collective achievement over a quarter of a century, and to give the book true value for those who received it. We told the history of CareTech through the voices of some of the people who helped create it – from the most junior to the most senior.