landMARK highlights the principal characteristic that distinguishes regional companies from others traded on the London Stock Exchange - location.
A dedicated landMARK website (www.londonstockexchange.com/landmark) has been established to ensure easy access to detailed information about companies in each region, as well as information about the financial community that supports and advises them.
This will increase companies' visibility and enable investors, professional advisers, analysts, and journalists to identify local companies that are making a real difference.
Tim Ward, the London Stock Exchange's Head of Issuer Services, explains:"landMARK is one of a series of 'attribute-led' markets the Exchange has introduced to meet the needs of traded companies and investors. Its introduction will increase awareness and knowledge about companies in our regions, creating a higher profile for companies' shares and greater liquidity in the market."
landMARK has also attracted support from organisations that represent the private investor and retail broking communities.
Jeremy King, Director of Private Share Ownership at ProShare, an organisation that encourages wider share ownership, says: "Many investment clubs and private investors make a point of investing in companies that are local to them. They do this because it is often easier to understand what is happening in these businesses and because they feel a sense of affinity with them."
"landMARK represents a tremendous new resource for the investor who has a regional investment focus - it's a very impressive service which pulls together key information about this market."
APCIMS Chief Executive Angela Knight says: "landMARK is a significant step in highlighting the importance of local companies and stockbrokers to investors. This initiative informs the investment community about the choices and opportunities that are available in their region and is welcomed by APCIMS."
The landMARK website will give companies a strong basis for their own locally-focused investor relations campaigns and provide a point of focus for press and broadcasters in their local and financial business coverage.
The first stage of the initiative, landMARK north west, groups together around 120 companies from the region which are traded on either the main market or AIM. It is expected that landMARK will be extended to include all UK regional areas by the end of 2001.
