FESE: ‘European Companies And Exchanges Congratulate Winners Of The 1st European Small And Mid‐Cap Awards And Call For European Action To Revive IPOs’

A public listing is one of the most critical ways a company can secure the capital needed to grow independently. However, IPO activity in Europe has declined systematically over the last two decades. Smaller companies are finding it especially difficult to access public markets. EuropeanIssuers and FESE share common concerns about these trends and are taking action to promote market finance in Europe.

On the afternoon of 19th November, the two associations co‐hosted a Roundtable entitled “The Future of Enterprise Funding in Europe – Can Europe grow as IPOs decline?”. Speakers included Olivier Guersent, Chef de Cabinet of Commissioner Barnier; Mats Isaksson, Head of Corporate Affairs of the OECD and Co‐author of “Who Cares? Corporate Governance in Today's Equity Markets”; George Lemonidis, Deputy Head of Unit, SME Access to Finance (DG Enterprise); Almorò Rubin de Cervin, Deputy Head of Unit, Financial Services Policy, Relations with the Council (DG Markt); as well as CEOs of exchanges and listed company officials. The Roundtable covered the financing needs of enterprises, the benefits of public equity markets for companies and for the economy, and the structural problems leading to a decline in IPOs in Europe and around the world. There was a consensus that Europe must address these challenges to ensure a sustainable economic recovery with job creation.

On the evening of 19th November, the two associations co‐hosted a prestigious awards ceremony presided to celebrate the winners of the 1st European Small and Mid‐cap Awards. The ceremony was presided over by the European Commission:  Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General of DG Enterprise and Industry and SME Envoy of the European Commission as well as Nadia Calviño, Deputy Director General of the DG Internal Markets and Services. The Awards aim to highlight the best European small and mid‐sized companies who have gained access to capital markets via an Initial Public Offering and to encourage more companies to access public capital markets.

The four Award categories were introduced by Nadia Calviño, Deputy Director General of DG Internal Markets and Services from the European Commission, and Jean‐Paul Servais, Chairman of the Belgium FSMA. The winners were announced as follows:

• Best new listed company: Gowex, a Spanish wireless telecommunication company dually listed on BME Spanish Exchanges and NYSE Euronext;
• Most innovative newcomer: Borregaard, a Norwegian biochemical company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange;
• Most internationally‐minded newcomers: Carbures Europe, a Spanish carbon fibre company listed on BME Spanish Exchanges and Wilh. Wilhelmsen, a Norwegian transportation company listed on Oslo Børs; and Rising star: Veripos, a UK satellite company listed on Oslo Børs.

EuropeanIssuers’ Chairman, Didier Lombard, said, “Europe’s overall competitiveness depends on the strength of its innovative small and mid‐cap companies. These Awards highlight the role that market finance can play in the European economy and challenge Europe’s political, business and financial leaders to support our small and mid‐cap companies’ IPO efforts.”

Christian Katz, said, “IPOs help create jobs, foster an entrepreneurial spirit, drive growth through innovation, and broaden the investment opportunities for savers. Our exchanges are all individually doing everything they can to help companies come to the market. We want Europe to prioritise IPOs and access of enterprises to capital markets.”