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Wow – I can hardly believe that just under a year ago we set up a new company, Heartwood Partners to offer investor relations advice.
We’ve had a busy first year working for over 10 companies ranging from FTSE100 company Mediclinic to HiyaCar, an innovative start up company in the sharing economy space. Our core our mission is to help companies communicate their investment case clearly and to a wider network of investors. In that regard we have been retained by clients as their investor relations advisor, we’ve worked as an outsourced IR firm, and arranged a number of investor roadshows for clients who felt they were just seeing the same old faces.
It is very clear to us that companies are often brilliant in their own industry but can struggle to communicate what differentiates themselves as an investment relative to their peers. We use our expertise built up over 40 years as fund managers and stockbrokers to hone in on the most effective elements of our client's investment case. We provide input into our client’s results statements, their presentations and data on their websites. In a world of always-on data feeds, fund managers often will not have the time to wade through complex disclosures. It is in our clients interests and those of their potential investors to strive for clarity and brevity. We help them to achieve this.
We also arrange for our clients to meet a wider set of investors. Widening a company's reach involves more than just arranging a new roadshow; we facilitate our clients attending conferences, help arrange their capital markets days and arrange for them to present at seminars and sales force briefings. Its a process that requires time and clear thought. Our aim is to become our client's trusted investor relations adviser.
This year has brought a number of firsts. Before Christmas we were asked to assist on our first IPO. We made a number of capital introductions, utilising our proprietary database of institutional, private client fund manager and high net worth investors, for a leading ad-tech company Mirriad. Our introductions enabled Mirriad to meet its investment targets and float on the AIM market. This is definitely a company to watch as it brings a new and innovative approached to in-video advertising.
We have also made a number of capital introductions to our network of high net worth investors for companies seeking to raise Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) funds. In October we helped HiyaCar, "the Airbnb of private cars" raise expansion capital for its platform. We also enabled SA Systems to meet new investors to provide expansion funds for their financial services kiosks.
We are hugely grateful to the many people who have helped us in our first year of business. Its been really positive to receive your words of encouragement and with your support we know have a range of services that are needed and wanted by both listed and unlisted companies.
We have also learnt so much over the year. Whether it be from managing our IT requirements to accounts receivables. When analysing companies as a fund manager an old saying stuck in my mind "revenue is vanity, profits are sanity and cashflow is king". As a business owner it is amazing how true this is. I now know that 60 day payment terms means you might get paid in 90 if you invest a huge amount of what should be unnecessary time chasing payment. I'm not sure this system is efficient for anyone, certainly not for us, but what an eye-opener.
As the year comes to an end Heartwood Partners can look forward to 2018 with optimism. We have added to our retained clients and have a good pipeline of new business. Many many thanks to all who have helped us in our first year of business. We couldn’t have done it without you and we look forward to continuing to offer the best investor relations services we can going forward.