LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Engagement Appeal (“TEA”), a platform for inclusive investor relations, is pleased to announce that it has received endorsements from Essentra PLC (“Essentra”) and ShareAction for its aim. This is the latest milestone in the movement’s endeavour to build a forum for corporates and their retail investors to engage in meaningful dialogue and achieve better representation.
Essentra, a FTSE 250 company, becomes the first corporate to formally back TEA. This business has established various policies to increase inclusiveness, for instance taking on a Board NED Trainee who has gender and ethnic diversity for 12 months. They are then available to find a NED position in the market.
Paul Lester, non-executive chairman of Essentra PLC commented: “At Essentra, we actively practice inclusivity within our business and within our Board too. Backing TEA is an extension of this ethos as we were already seeking methods of engaging with our retail investors in a similar manner as to how we engage with our institutional shareholders. It was a unanimous decision by the Board to support this initiative and we look forward to working with them on how we achieve our objectives.”
ShareAction, a charity set up to promote responsible investment across Europe, works with investors, policymakers and individuals as well as providing resources to benchmark investors. ShareAction is committed to positioning responsibility at the heart of mainstream investment through research, campaigning, policy advocacy and public mobilisation.
Catherine Howarth, chief executive at ShareAction added: “As an organisation committed to driving positive behaviour change in capital markets, ShareAction wants to see more and better interaction between investors and companies. We are delighted to support TEA as we share a common vision of greater inclusivity and dialogue between companies and their shareholders.”
Sheryl Cuisia, co-founder and director of The Engagement Appeal said: “TEA’s objective is to increase interaction between corporates and their retail investors. By improving interaction, the corporates’ investment proposition will be better understood by retail investors and share price will not always be subject to irrational downward pressure. TEA aims to help corporates prepare for greater shareholder participation whilst targeting enhanced financial literacy amongst retail investors and improving their chances of building a successful portfolio.”
****
Note to editors
About Sheryl Cuisia, Co-Founder of The Engagement Appeal
Sheryl is a social entrepreneur, individual investor, and advocate of stakeholder capitalism. In 2011, she founded Boudicca Proxy, the leading shareholder engagement consultancy, which became part of the FTSE 250 company Equiniti Group in 2018. Over 20 years in corporate governance advisory, she has overseen 1,000 campaigns across multiple industries and markets. She was briefly a director and then Chair of the UK Individual Shareholders Society (ShareSoc) between September 2021 and March 2022. Sheryl was the inaugural Entrepreneur-in-Residence at King’s College, Cambridge, and a non-executive director of CTFN UK.
Please visit https://teaxall.org/, or email social@TEAxAll.org to learn more.
About Essentra PLC
Essentra plc is a FTSE 250 company and a leading global provider of essential components and solutions, focusing on the manufacture and distribution of plastic injection moulded, vinyl dip moulded and metal items.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Essentra's global network extends to 25 countries worldwide and includes over 3,000 employees, 13 manufacturing facilities, 24 distribution centres and 33 sales & service centres serving c.80,000 customers with a rapid supply of low cost but essential products for a variety of applications in industries such as equipment manufacturing, automotive, fabrication, electronics, medical and renewable energy. For further information, please visit www.essentraplc.com
About ShareAction
For more than 15 years, ShareAction, the responsible investment NGO, has been working to shape a world where the financial system serves our planet and its people. Through research, campaigns and advocacy ShareAction mobilises investors large and small to press companies on labour standards, climate action, protecting the natural world and people’s health. We push financial policymakers to ensure that markets are working in the best interests of people and planet. Visit shareaction.org or follow us @ShareAction to find out more.
