The London Stock Exchange has developed a hosted web
service to give firms with a small market capitalisation and those
listed on the alternative investment market a cost-effective online
investor relations presence.
The offering is primarily designed to help companies meet their
obligations under the EU Market Abuse Directive, which requires
improved disclosure of information to the market as part of a
framework for tackling insider dealing and market manipulation.
Although it is hosted remotely, the IR Web Modules system is
designed to fully integrate with a firm's corporate website.
The software lets companies manage content and includes design
tools to recreate the look of their existing website. It also
features data plug-ins to enable real-time data feeds of
information such as share prices, corporate announcements and
historical data.
Simon Wilkinson, deputy head of IS solutions at the London Stock
Exchange, said IR Web Modules had been developed because many firms
with smaller market capitalisations have a corporate website but no
investor relations pages, and could not justify the expense of
developing a bespoke IR presence.
"The service is based around a content management system hosted
by the exchange," said Wilkinson. "Firms give us an extension to
their URL which enables us to host it here but mask it back to
them."
IR Web Modules was six months in development and went live on 1
September with a handful of firms. It is about to be marketed more
widely, with the exchange particularly keen to attract smaller
firms that have joined the market in the past nine months.