Providing expert profile-building advice to startups and growth companies as they consolidate their strategic market position and navigate competitive private market funding rounds
Today’s entrepreneurs and founders are targeting deep pools of increasingly discerning growth capital in private markets, with herds of unicorns roaming global markets. For these companies, private no longer means private, as they strive to stand out to the investor community with a compelling equity story, whilst building a sustainable business model and fending off any regulatory risk which could threaten their business model and licence to operate.
We combine our deep heritage of capital markets with in-house expertise from private equity, growth companies and venture capital. This allows us to advise entrepreneurs, founders and CEOs on demonstrating growth and solid unit economics, engaging effectively with the private capital ecosystem and attracting the most successful private investors as backers.
Whether it is early-stage startups, growing scaleups or mature companies considering a liquidity event, we help companies deliver on their potential through impactful brand building, compelling investor communications and best-in class reputation management throughout economic cycles
GETTING AN ESG STRATEGY RIGHT
Using our team of specialists in ESG strategy, including our partners at Canopy Consulting, we can advise from the start of your ESG plan to assessing it at every stage:
- Understanding and reviewing your material issues
- Benchmarking them with sector peers
- Mapping key stakeholders from customers to investors and regulators
- Analysing the views of internal stakeholders on ESG priorities
- Organising an internal workshop and drafting an action plan to drive momentum
ARTICULATING A CREDIBLE ESG NARRATIVE
We will ensure that your ESG strategy is well positioned and portrayed through our knowledge in the field, our communications expertise and understanding of the investor landscape:
- Creating your ESG narrative and messaging in alignment with business sustainability goals
- Translating TCFD/TNFD principles into meaningful narrative for broader stakeholders
- Developing your wider ESG Communications strategy including internal engagement
- Meeting your investor expectations, by integrating your ESG story in existing materials
- Identifying credible spokespeople and providing Media Training using experienced advisers with ESG knowledge
MEASURING THE RESULTS
We will support you in measuring the results of your ESG work by:
- Monitoring any ESG related coverage
- Monitoring your peers on a regular basis
- Checking your scores, rating, positioning on indices
- Liaising with trusted third parties to support you in improving your ESG visibility
- Getting feedback from stakeholders and investors with CDR providing an independent analysis
A detailed examination of your investment case and its delivery, with recommendations to enhance all aspects of your IR programme
Our dedicated global team of IR professionals take a fresh, objective view of the content and structure of your key information materials and your overall approach to reporting and engagement. We optimise your narrative and test the appropriateness of KPIs and other metrics, benchmarking these against your investment peers and wider market practice.
Our analysis looks at your current disclosure levels, guidance policy, level of integration of sustainability narrative into ongoing communications, effectiveness of delivery of key messages during results calls and investor presentations and your overall approach to investor targeting.
The results of this analysis will be integrated into a detailed recommendations report, to support suggested next steps and changes needed to enhance all aspects of the IR programme (which we can also assist you with, as required).
Our dedicated global team provides services across the full IR spectrum, from training to advisory, operating a fully outsource IR function for equity and debt issuers, and support for private companies to ensure ‘a state of readiness’ well ahead of any potential liquidity event.
A reputational due diligence product to help companies and leaders understand their reputational risks and see where the (often missed) opportunities are to strengthen and protect their reputation
With The Truth Report, we will ask the tough questions and probe the difficult issues to provide an honest assessment of what all your stakeholders – from employees to customers to investors – really think about your business, your culture, and your brand.
When will you need The Truth Report?
- As a new CEO, CFO or Chair
- Pre-IPO or demerger
- Due diligence ahead of M&A transaction
- Prior to launching a significant new product or entering a new market
- ‘Check in’ following a period of growth, challenge, or change
- To shape the AuditCo discussion on reputational risk
The Truth Report is your reputational reality check. It’s intelligence and insights could be the difference between sustained success and failure.
A dedicated partner to support you on the next stage of your journey
We are ready to act as an extension of your team to provide strategic communications and investor relations advisory as you navigate change. Any change in a business, whether it be M&A, an IPO, boardroom reshuffle or shareholder activism can be unsettling. OYO is an opportunity to reflect and reset following a period of change or transformation. Our extensive experience of advising FTSE, AIM, internationally listed and privately-held companies on multi-stakeholder strategies, means we have the necessary strength of team and depth of experience to ensure you are fully supported.
Our proprietary evaluation and benchmarking tool for the asset management industry
MediaScan enables us to survey the UK’s top tier investment media and benchmark asset management firms’ media relations output on a six-monthly basis. Asset management clients use it to track performance and help shape their earned media strategy. The tool has been operational since 2005, providing a valuable historic dataset.
Experts in preparing clients for challenging communications situations
From media interviews and employee town halls, high-profile panel appearances and investor and analyst meetings, to select committee hearings, we regularly prepare senior leaders for landmark announcements internally and externally, ensuring individuals are equipped to handle tough questions smoothly and thoughtfully. We are used to dealing with everything from major product launches to situations where activism and litigation pose potential risk.
Our approach focuses on extensive preparatory work, developing robust Q&A and key messages with consideration given to how to land messages with authority and empathy. We are often engaged for 1:1 coaching sessions with founders, CEOs and other board members, advising on communicating with gravitas, tone and connecting with audiences to best effect in-person or virtually.
We help to create and refine the personal narrative that founders and CEOs are increasingly expected to use with all stakeholders including employees. We use our insight and experience to provide a considered critique and support leaders to build a culture of candour.
Our expert team is drawn from the fields of investment banking, private equity, in-house roles, journalism, and international broadcasting. We have delivered leadership communications advisory, alongside more general media and presentation training, to clients in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.
A leading global provider of highly specialised services for hedge funds
Since the inception of our global hedge fund practice in 2016, we have worked with many of the best-known names in the industry. Our focus is helping these firms raise capital through strategic brand-building that targets investor audiences globally, including sophisticated institutional investors. We also have extensive experience advising on complex special situations such as activism, M&A and litigation.
Our advisory services include the creation of communications strategies on equity long/short, credit, quant, event-driven, activist, distressed, global macro, FX, crypto, emerging markets, biotech, disruptive tech and ESG, for firms across key financial centres including London, Paris, New York, Toronto, and Hong Kong.
