FESE / EuropeanIssuers unveil the winners of the 3rd European Small and Mid-cap Awards

BRUSSELS, 16-12-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — On the evening of 9th December, FESE and EuropeanIssuers co-hosted a prestigious awards ceremony to celebrate the winners of the 3rd European Small and Mid-cap Awards.

The ceremony was presided over by the European Commission: Lowri Evans, Director General of DG GROWTH.

The Awards aim to highlight the best European small and mid-sized companies who have gained access to capital markets via an Initial Public Offering (IPO). By offering a platform for such companies we hope to encourage more companies to follow suit by accessing finance through public capital markets.

The Awards, now in their third year, were founded by the European Commission, FESE and EuropeanIssuers in 2013 with the aim of highlighting what can be achieved by small and mid-cap companies who have raised money on public exchanges through IPOs.

Among the short-listed nominees, many have significantly increased both revenues and profits since floatation. These companies deserve recognition.

The four Award categories were introduced by Deirdre Somers, President of FESE and Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Stock Exchange and Luc Vansteenkiste, Chairman of EuropeanIssuers.

The winners were announced as follows:
• Best new listed company: Xeros Technology, a British company that develops and produces patented polymer bead systems, listed on the London Stock Exchange;
• Most innovative newcomer: ERYTECH Pharma, a French biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative therapies for rare forms of cancer and orphan diseases, listed on Euronext Paris;
• Most internationally-minded newcomer: Scatec Solar, a Norwegian independent solar power producer, listed on Oslo Børs; and
• Rising star: Selvita, a Polish drug discovery company engaged in the research and development of breakthrough therapies, listed on GPW (Warsaw Stock Exchange).

EuropeanIssuers’ Chairman, Luc Vansteenkiste, said, “Since the awards were launched in 2013 with the support of the European Commission, we have promoted best practices and success stories of more than 60 dynamic growth companies accessing capital markets. This edition, we are delighted to highlight the best European small and mid-sized companies having gone through an Initial Public Offering. We believe that access to these markets are important not only for Small and Mid-Cap companies but also to generate sustainable economic growth.”

Deirdre Somers, FESE President, said, “The listed companies nominated for these Awards fully deserve to be recognised for their achievements and serve as an example to other companies of the positive benefits that can be gained from equity financing. European companies are the backbone of the European economy, they deliver the vast majority of jobs, intellectual capital and innovation capability that will hopefully sustain the next generation.”

Further information for the Editor:

Second and third place were awarded to:
Best new listed company
Second place: Taaleritehdas, listed on NASDAQ Helsinki
Third place: Alumetal, listed on GPW (Warsaw Stock Exchange)
Most innovative newcomer
Second place: Xeros Technology, listed on the London Stock Exchange
Third place: Molecular Partners, listed on SIX Swiss Exchange
Most internationally-minded newcomer
Second place: LiveChat Software, listed on GPW (Warsaw Stock Exchange)
Third place: Euroconsult Group, listed on Mercado Alternativo Bursátil – MAB (Grupo BME).
Rising Star
Second place: Zalaris, listed on Oslo Børs
Third place: Planet.fr, listed on Euronext Paris

The Awards Jury
The winners were chosen by an independent jury: Detlef Fechtner, EU correspondent, Börsen-Zeitung Jean-Pierre Paelinck, President and Secretary General, World Federation of Investors Julian Palfreyman, former CEO, Winterflood Securities Greg Revenu, Managing Partner, Bryan, Garnier & Co Phaedon Tamvakakis, Vice Chairman, Alpha Trust Investment Services

About FESE
The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) represents 36 exchanges in equities, bonds, derivatives and commodities through 19 full members from 30 countries, as well as one Affiliate Member and one Observer Member. At the end of 2014, FESE members had up to 9,051 companies listed on their markets, of which 7% are foreign companies contributing towards the European integration and providing broad and liquid access to Europe’s capital markets. Many of our members also organise specialised markets that allow small and medium sized companies across Europe to access the capital markets; 1,442 companies were listed in these specialised markets/segments in equity, increasing choice for investors and issuers. For further information please visit www.fese.eu.

About EuropeanIssuers
EuropeanIssuers is a pan-European organisation representing the interests of publicly quoted companies across Europe to the EU Institutions. As at 31 December 2014, there were 13 2251 such companies on both the main regulated markets and the alternative exchange-regulated markets. Our members include both national associations and companies from all sectors, covering markets worth € 7.2 billion market capitalisation with approximately 8000 companies. We aim to ensure that EU policy creates an environment in which companies can raise capital through the public markets and can deliver growth over the longer-term. We seek capital markets that serve the interests of their end users, including issuers. For more information, please visit www.europeanissuers.eu.

For further information please contact:
FESE
Tracey Roberts
Communications & Policy Adviser
Tel: +32 2 551 01 87
Email: roberts@fese.eu

EuropeanIssuers
Florence Bindelle
Secretary General
Tel: +32 2 289 25 71
Email: florence.bindelle@europeanissuers.eu

About the sponsors:

Mazars: Mazars is an international, integrated and independent organization, specializing in audit, accountancy, tax, legal and advisory services. As of September 1st 2015, Mazars and its correspondents operates throughout 92 countries. 73 of these countries are part of Mazars’ integrated partnership and 19 are Mazars correspondents. They draw on the expertise of over 15,000 professionals to assist major international groups, SMEs, private investors and public bodies at every stage of their development. The Praxity Alliance offers Mazars operating capacity via professional teams in 18 additional countries. Contact: Fatemeh Jailani fatemeh.jailani@mazars.fr

Barclays
Barclays is an international financial services provider engaged in personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management with an extensive presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays’ purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions – in the right way. With 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 130,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com.

NASDAQ:
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading provider of trading, exchange technology, information and public company services across six continents. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today’s global capital markets. As the creator of the world’s first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 70 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world’s securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to more than 3,600 listed companies with a market value of over 8.8 trillion and more than 10,000 corporate clients. To learn more, visit http://business.nasdaq.com/.
Contact: Heli-Kirsti Airisniemi heli-kirsti.airisniemi@nasdaq.com

Irish Stock Exchange:
The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) provides three equity markets where companies enjoy one the most international investor bases in Europe enabled by world class trading infrastructure, complementary listing regimes and a diverse and connected membership network. Offering a full range of stock exchange services to the securities industry, the ISE is a global leader in the listing of funds and bonds and has over 33,000 securities issued by 4,000 organisations from 80 countries around the globe listed on its markets. For more information visit www.ise.ie
Contact: Ailish Byrne ailish.byrne@ise.ie

SIX Swiss Exchange:
SIX Swiss Exchange is the leading independent exchange in Europe. It offers outstanding liquidity in trading of Swiss securities and connects companies from around the world with international investors and trading participants. The self-regulatory regime enables it to create particularly market-oriented framework conditions for listing and trading in its highly liquid segments Equities, Bonds, ETFs, ETPs, Sponsored Funds, Sponsored Foreign Shares and Structured Products. SIX Swiss Exchange multiplies the locational advantages of the Swiss financial marketplace with first-rate services and is an ideal listing location for companies of every origin, size and sector. It distributes its own range of indices, including Switzerland’s most important blue-chip index SMI®. With the world’s most advanced trading technology X-stream INET as well as a wide array of connectivity options and interfaces, SIX Swiss Exchange offers excellent trading conditions. It maintains a close dialogue with both its domestic and foreign customers, to create optimal conditions for their success. Furthermore, SIX Swiss Exchange offers them access to a strong global network which includes SIX Structured Products Exchange Ltd, the Swiss exchange for structured products, the market data provider SIX Exfeed Ltd and the fund database Swiss Fund Data. SIX Swiss Exchange is part of SIX which offers first-rate services in the areas of securities trading, clearing and settlement, as well as financial market information and payment transactions on a global scale. Contact: SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd l Selnaustrasse 30 l P.O. Box 1758 l 8021 Zurich T +41 58 399 5454 l F +41 58 499 5455 l www.six-swiss-exchange.com

Euronext:
Euronext is the primary exchange in the Euro zone with more than 1,300 issuers worth €2.8 trillion in market capitalisation, an unmatched blue-chip franchise consisting of 25 issuers in the EURO STOXX 50® benchmark and a strong, diverse domestic and international client base. Euronext operates regulated and transparent equity and derivatives markets. Its total product offering includes Equities, Exchange Traded Funds, Warrants & Certificates, Bonds, Derivatives, Commodities and Indices. Euronext also leverages its expertise in running markets by providing technology and managed services to third parties. Euronext operates regulated markets, Alternext and the Free Market; in addition it offers EnterNext, which facilitates SMEs’ access to capital markets.

Contacts:
Caroline Nico (Europe): cnico@euronext.com
Alice Jentink (Amsterdam): ajentink@euronext.com
Pascal Brabant (Brussels): pbrabant@euronext.com
Sandra Machado (Lisbon): smachado@euronext.com
Laura Panhard (Paris): lpanhard@euronext.com