Services

Financial PR

We base our advice on knowledge and experience. The team of consultants has a broad sector knowledge backed by over 150 years of accumulated knowledge of working with smaller, growing companies.

Clearly the core announcements are the Prelims, the Interims and the AGM trading update. The drafting of the statements is a key to achieving the press writing what you want to hear and the analysts and investors being clear as to how the business is progressing. Lothbury will either initiate or take part in the drafting process.

However during the calendar year there are often stories within a company that given suitable treatment can enhance the profile of the business. They might, for example, be a new product development, a new contract, a diary story which reflects well on the company.

In addition, to the above where possible the company should seek to be a leading spokesman for its sector and comment on market issues as well as contribute to the content of any feature articles on their sector. Lothbury will identify those opportunities throughout the year thereby developing the corporate profile either side of the financial announcements.

But in some ways the management of negative news is more crucial than good news. The effect tends to be greater press interest and a sharp marking down of the share price. The old adage that the City does not like surprises is just as true today as ever but it is important to not appear to be trying to hide any bad news, so once again timing is critical.

In summary, whatever the circumstances in order to get the very best results that is why Lothbury needs to become a 'quasi' part of the management team working closely in handling all financial communications.

IPOs and Fund Raising

The Lothbury team has advised on a large number of IPOs stretching over the past 25 years, both as PR advisers and as advisers in another role.

While the majority of listings have been on the London market, in a number of cases they have related to the Austrialian, Canadian and US markets. Clearly the timing of announcements is crucial and the Lothbury team are happy to advise on these as well as be available during the local markets working hours.

In the area of fund-raising, Lothbury is unusual in that it has on many occasions enabled companies to raise funds in addition to those that the appointed advisers have managed to attract. We do not see ourselves as an alternative source of funds but as an additional one, working closely with the team of advisers to the overall benefit of the client.

Mergers and Acquisitions

While the level of mergers and acquisitions in the mid/small cap sector may attract less national media attention than the multibillion Pound/Dollar deals nevertheless, they can be of considerable significance in the particular sector/market that a company is operating within.

Our approach to arrange the timing of the announcement so as not only to have the most chance of gaining the maximum attention of the national business pages but also the appropriate trade press. Thereafter, we seek to focus on the implications of a merger or acquisition by arranging for a feature article which considers the future effects that it will have on the company and the market/markets it is now operating in.

Investor Relations

In the case of smaller companies, this is an area where a consultancy can bring untold benefits, albeit they are less apparent to the onlooker.

Lothbury has an extensive network of Private Client stockbrokers, based throughout the UK, to which it can market its clients' shares through both individual and group meetings and impressive contacts throughout Europe.

The intention is often two-fold: to generate interest in a company which hitherto has not been on the radar of these advisers, and in some cases, to raise additional funds to enable the company to grow.

Our experience is that this area of activity is increasing prominent and as a result it leads to increasing press interest due to the enhanced level of share dealing.

Corporate and Trade PR

Many smaller companies do not have a dedicated corporate communications facility. The image of a business in either or both of the B2B and B2C areas is essential and Lothbury has the ability to work with the client in developing communication programmes aimed at the appropriate target audiences. The core of this programme will usually be the trade press relevant to the company. This is beneficial in terms of business development and also where the company is listed in terms of indirectly feeding information to analysts and private client brokers.

Lothbury works with each company as the adviser/co-ordinator of this activity and will in some cases suggest that other marketing/promotional activities are involved.

It is essential that all the appropriate audiences hear the same message at the same time be they staff, customers, suppliers, the press, shareholders or the City – we call this integrated communications.

Crisis PR

Most types of crisis can be predicted but the problem is that the timing is rarely known! In the case of most companies they have never had a crisis before and therefore a generally ill equipped to deal with one when it arises.

Lothbury, due to the wide experience of its consultants, has advised on most crisis that arise from management changes, to fraud and product liability issues. We focus on a client as soon as we are made aware of the problem bringing in other members of the team where required and operating on a 24/7 basis; this is particularly important for our overseas clients.

Network of marketing and advisory companies

Lothbury makes its money by charging fees for its consultancy advice. Quite often when working with our clients, especially on the corporate side, we can see that other channels of communication should be involved and other audiences addressed. To this end we have established relationships with businesses in the following areas:

  • Politics/Public Affairs
  • Advertising
  • Media buying
  • Design
  • Web design & management
  • Data management and mailing lists
  • Market research
  • Event management

We can give clients a choice of provider in each field. The client, while still receiving our advice and with us managing the process, deals directly with the chosen supplier in terms of billing. Our view is quite simply that we advise our clients what is best for them and not Lothbury – so no commission is paid to us by any of our 'network'.