Midlands companies must establish a robust communication strategy if they are to transition successfully to listed status – a well attended seminar held in Birmingham has heard.
The breakfast forum on Initial Public Offerings (IPO) held at the Hotel du Vin in Birmingham was hosted by international accountancy firm Mazars in association with stockbrokers Arden Partners and law firm Squire Patton Boggs.
David Preston, who heads up Mazars’ West Midlands transaction services team, said the audience of directors of some of the region’s most respected private companies were briefed on what investors look for in a successful IPO.
He said: “What came across strongly from this seminar was the importance of clearly communicating your strategy to ensure there are no surprises once your company is listed. Fail in this area and there will be the distraction of having to rebuild investor trust.”
Steve Douglas, head of corporate finance at Arden Partners, gave an overview of current market trends and highlighted the attractiveness of local technology, manufacturing and engineering firms because of their cash generative nature.
He also stressed the importance of being market-ready ahead of an IPO in terms of board structure, corporate structure and being able to demonstrate that reporting disciplines are embedded ahead of flotation.
Edward Dawes, corporate partner at Squire Patton Boggs, indicated some of the factors that could potentially derail a listing from a legal due diligence perspective.
Phil Waller from Mazars outlined the tax related aspects to be considered, and discussed the steps that can be taken to protect intellectual property – often an important feature of businesses making the move to listed status.
David Preston said: “Flotation is one of a number of sources of development capital for growing businesses. It isn’t appropriate for some companies but there are others to whom it could be attractive. Our seminar offered a perspective which appeared well received.
“We were very pleased to host the breakfast with two such highly regarded IPO specialists as Steve Douglas and Edward Dawes.
“The discussion that evolved ranged across all aspects of the IPO process and delivered a keen insight into its potential to our invited guests.
“The success of this event has already prompted us to schedule a similar forum in the summer.”