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Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets Trust plc

Investment companies sector sees first premium listing since late 2021

Emerging Markets Investment Company
London Stock Exchange
UK
Initial Public Offering
Buchanan team
Henry Harrison-Topham Henry Wilson George Beale
Appraising
Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets Trust (AWEM), a newly incorporated investment company, began trading on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, 3 May 2023.

Buchanan were engaged to support with their external communications strategy and provide counsel to the company and its broker during the IPO process.

AWEM was the first premium listed IPO in the investment companies sector since November 2021 and the first listed equities-focused investment trust launched since 2018.

The company is seeking to achieve long-term capital growth, primarily through investing in equities that provide exposure to Global Emerging Markets.

ELEVATING

Buchanan achieved a substantial amount of supportive media coverage during the offer period, educating and informing key sector commentators across a wide variety of media outlets including the Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, Citywire, Investment Trust Newsletter, Shares, Interactive Investor and many more.

This helped the company gain traction with private investors on retail investment platforms AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown.

This demand played no small part in helping AWEM reach the required funding commitment to list on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

There were several headwinds to navigate during the process, not least the cautious investor sentiment around new listings, highlighted by the fact that there was not a single investment company IPO in 2022.

“Buchanan delivered a remarkably successful result in communicating & promoting the AWEM opportunity against a particularly challenging background for new IPOs, let alone investment company ones. They obtained a most impressive range of media coverage including with several major commentators whose endorsements were undoubtedly critical in securing the launch & listing of the new Company, and they demonstrated handsomely just what an effective PR campaign can achieve when executed & managed as professionally as they did.”

Martin Shenfield,
Non-Executive Chairman of Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets Trust plc

“The Buchanan team were an integral ingredient to the successful IPO of AWEM, where a well thought-through media plan delivered two prominent articles in the weekend editions of leading national newspapers, in addition to other specialist publications. In our opinion this is the best press coverage of any IPO that Ellora team members have worked on historically. Buchanan adds a great deal of value, based on their leading understanding of the investment companies universe and built on a solid network of quality, longstanding relationships.”

Oliver Kenyon,
Corporate Finance at Ellora Partners

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