In this episode, Stephen Nightingale from Britvic has reviewed the impact of covid on Investor Relations. Before the pandemic, IR was all about in-person meetings, from investor conferences to roadshows. Everyone had to adjust to virtual meetings quickly, which greatly benefited overseas companies that could easily access US funds without the travel burdens and costs. On the flip side, funds overnight had so much access to companies that they became saturated, and meetings became less effective. As we move into 2023, we expect to reach a good balance finally. But since the balance includes hybrid meetings, how can companies get their story across when not meeting everyone in person is the main challenge, which is the theme that Stephen covered.
As a new initiative for the year, the company is returning to in-person events and creating educational, small-sized content pills to tell its story across all platforms throughout the year. Stephen also discusses other challenges for IR in the upcoming year, with the interest rate and inflationary pressure taking money from equities into fixed income, making the competition for capital higher. Watch the full episode for some great insights.