LEADERS AND LAGGARDS

ShareSoc

This page lists “leader” awards that ShareSoc considers companies have earned by exemplifying good practice in corporate governance and individual shareholder engagement; and “laggard” awards for those who’s behaviour falls short and we want to call out for poor practice.

Examples of good practice are responding to shareholder requests and concerns; good engagement with individual shareholders, as well as with analysts and institutions; good remuneration practices.

Examples of poor practice are holding general meetings at times and locations that make it difficult for many shareholders to attend; presenting exclusively to analysts and institutions and not offering the same opportunities to engage with individual shareholders; excessive executive remuneration.

Please contact us if you would like to nominate a company for a “leader” or “laggards” award.

ShareSoc has formed its views of these companies at the time recorded and using member recommendations and publicly available information. Companies are commended or criticised for the behaviour described. ShareSoc does not claim that the company is a leader or laggard in other aspects of its operations or that its behaviour is the best or worst example available. We describe it as “a” leader/laggard not “the” leader/laggard. If you feel that this assessment is based on inaccurate information at the time of writing or should be reconsidered subsequently, please contact us with further details.

Leaders

LeaderL&G AGM Directors not afraid of shareholders

    Legal & General’s directors are a beacon of hope and hopefully a bellwether for others. L&G is facilitating shareholder engagement in person and on line. This is...

LeaderPress Release – Baillie Gifford partners with ShareSoc to back individual investors

Baillie Gifford is joining ShareSoc’s Corporate Supporter Scheme, underlining the importance it places on individual investors. Baillie Gifford is an independent global asset manager, headquartered in Edinburgh. With £197bn of assets under management, of which £22bn sits within its popular range of 12 investment trusts. These trusts attract a large individual investor base. ShareSoc is the leading not-for-profit organisation dedicated to representing and supporting UK individual investors. It is a fervent campaigner for fair treatment of individual investors with a heavy focus on ...

LeaderLaw Debenture encouraging increased AGM attendance

Shareholders are encouraged to invite a guest so they can experience an AGM Law Debenture Corporation (LWDB) will hold its AGM on 11th April at the Peel Hunt offices in London. ShareSoc is pleased to see that not only is Law Debenture holding a hybrid AGM, allowing in-person or online attendance, but they are also encouraging shareholders to invite a guest, to allow them to experience what an AGM is like. A great initiative, which is part of Law Debenture's financial education ...

LeaderPress Release – ShareSoc & Edison join forces

Edison and ShareSoc join forces to improve access to investment information Investor Relations expert Edison has joined forces with ShareSoc, the UK’s premier membership organisation for individual investors to improve access to listed company information via innovative delivery channels. ShareSoc has been a fervent campaigner for improved individual investor access to information and research on listed companies, to facilitate more informed investment decisions, to exercise shareholders’ rights and to promote stewardship at the individual shareholder level. Edison is a leading provider of Research and ...

LeaderITV Offers Access to All Investors on Results Call

Kudos to ITV plc for making this morning's results call fully accessible to all investors. They did this by 1) making their results presentation available on their website; 2) offering a Zoom webinar at 9am to all investors in which participants could ask questions live, orally. I didn't try to ask any questions myself so cannot confirm whether individual investors questions would have been taken in the same manner as the many analyst questions. Everyone was able to use the Zoom "raise ...

Laggards

Laggard TwentyFour Income Fund – A Question of Transparency

ShareSoc Writes to TwentyFour Asset Management Expressing Concerns  A member of ShareSoc/SIGnet has raised concerns regarding the transparency of the TwentyFour Income Fund. In response, we have written an open letter to the fund’s manager, TwentyFour Asset Management, and await their response with interest.  As Buffett has emphasised, before making any investment, you should understand what you are investing in. Without adequate disclosure regarding the assets held in the fund, it is impossible to gain such an understanding.   

Laggard Dewhurst: Another Delisting on the Cheap?

Following Gusbourne and Anexo, here is another example of exploitation of minority shareholders by controlling shareholders through delisting.   The share price of the ordinary and A shares shows the dangers of dual class structures and the divergence of their share prices, as governance issues impact differently on the classes:               Source: Stockopedia  Summary of Dewhurst's Delisting and Impact on Minority Shareholders   Dewhurst Group PLC, a global manufacturer and supplier of components for the lift, transport, and keypad industries, announced its intention to delist from AIM and ...

Laggard Class Action for Former Shareholders in STM

  A class action group is being formed to represent former STM shareholders. This development follows a letter from Edmund Truell and Jambo SRC Limited (“Jambo”) to certain former shareholders, which states that no deferred consideration is payable in respect of Jambo’s acquisition of STM. If you held shares in STM Group plc at the time of the takeover, you will have received a Deferred Consideration Unit (“DCU”), exchangeable into loan notes worth up to seven pence per DCU and redeemable in cash ...

Laggard Urgent appeal for sponsorship from the Flybe Shareholder Group

Flybe shareholders have waited long enough – please help us finally uncover the truth This solicitation is published by ShareSoc on behalf of the Flybe Shareholder Group and publication thereof does not represent an endorsement of the proposed action. For further information readers can contact the action group via their CrowdJustice page.  In early 2019, upbeat statements by Flybe’s leadership were followed by a dramatic collapse in the value of its shares, wiping out investors and prompting urgent questions which remain unanswered.   Hosking ...

Laggard GUSBOURNE Case Study

Sparkling Product, Sour Investment   Gusbourne PLC (GUS), an AIM-listed producer of English sparkling wine, is a case study in how minority shareholders in small-cap companies can be severely disadvantaged. While the product itself may garner acclaim, the company's recent trajectory has left a bitter taste for many individual investors. Lord Ashcroft, Gusbourne's majority shareholder and primary debt holder, is moving to take the company private, leaving smaller shareholders with severely limited and unpalatable options. Gusbourne Share Price Performance A Precipitous Decline in Value The timeline of ...

Become a free Associate ShareSoc member

Enter your email to sign up as a free Associate ShareSoc member and receive our emails. It takes a few seconds — and on the next page you'll have the option to customise your membership.