Yesterday evening, we celebrated the 12th edition of the European Small and Mid-Cap Awards, organised by the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), EuropeanIssuers and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs during the SME Assembly in Budapest (Hungary).
The Awards highlighted excellent SMEs from across the EU that have accessed capital markets via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the preceding 2 calendar years. They display the diversity of European markets and aim to promote stock listings on EU public markets, in particular targeting SMEs and growth companies.
An independent expert jury assesses nominated companies via four categories, namely
- the Star of 2024, awarded to an outstanding corporate citizen that stands out in a broad range of areas (e.g. ESG, financial and economic performances, reputation) as an exceptional leader in its class
- the Star of Innovation, awarded to a newly listed small or mid-cap company that places innovation (i.e. in corporate strategy and/or marketing strategy and/or the use of new technology) at the centre of its strategy for business development
- the International Star, awarded to a newly listed small and mid-cap company that boasts impressive results in terms of international sales, profit and market share growth
- the Rising Star, awarded to an SME with a market capitalisation up to €200m that displays remarkable growth potential
The Jury also assigned a special mention, to recognise an initiative, an individual or a company that has had a significant impact on small and mid-cap issuers accessing capital markets.
Bonifacio García-Porras, Head of Unit SMEs, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission said: “Access to public capital markets is vital for EU company growth and complements private funding. This year's nominations were outstanding, and the jury did an excellent job. The awarded SMEs excelled in growth, innovative business models, exceptional products or services, and successful international expansion. We hope these companies inspire other European businesses to pursue access to EU capital markets.”
Meet the winners
Star of the year 2024
Groupe Okwind is specialised in developing solutions for short-circuit green energy production and use. The company offers smart, AI-based energy production management by bringing individuals, farms, industrial sites and local governments self-supply solutions that enable them to generate and use their own energy using smart, high-performance photovoltaic trackers. Okwind is listed on Euronext Paris.
Star of innovation
Gubra, founded in 2008 in Denmark, is specialised in pre-clinical contract research services and peptide-based drug discovery within metabolic and fibrotic diseases. Gubra’s activities are focused on the early stages of drug development and are organised in two business areas – CRO Services and Discovery & Partnerships (D&P). The 2 business areas are highly synergistic and create a unique entity capable of generating a steady cash flow from the CRO business while at the same time enjoying biotechnology upside in the form of potential development milestone payments and potential royalties from the D&P business. Today, Gubra has approx. 250 employees and revenue in 2023 was DKK 205 million. Gubra is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen.
International Star
STIF SA is a French family-owned industrial SME founded in 1984 which designs, manufactures, and markets industrial equipment for niche markets. It specialises in handling equipment for bulk products, such as elevator buckets, lifting straps and compression fittings. The firm’s products include metal and plastic elevator buckets, elevator belts, safety components for bucket elevator, bends and compression couplings, explosion protection system, fire and explosion protection for battery energy storage systems (BESS), dust proof inspection doors, pipe systems, and magnetic separators. STIF SA is listed on Euronext Paris.
Rising star
mmcité a.s. covers the entire production, innovative design, development and implementation of urban furniture. Company products are indispensable, durable, functional but design amenities such as park benches, fountains, drinking fountains, bicycle racks, rubbish bins, bus stops and much more. Today we find furnishings from the company's workshop in public spaces all over the world. For example, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris or even at the top station of the cable car leading to Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain. In 2022 alone, the group sold its products to more than 30 countries and employs more than 240 people. Mmcité is listed on Prague Stock Exchange.
Special mention
Eurobank Equities Investment Firm S.A. is a subsidiary of Eurobank Group, one of the 4 systemic banks in Greece. Eurobank Equities has a dominant presence in the domestic capital markets, as showcased by its leading market position in terms of market share (ranked first for 10 out of the last 15 years) and its recognition in Institutional Investor Surveys (Extel/II) as one of the leading brokers in Greece and one of the top Equity Research Providers for the country.
Eurobank Equities’ Research division provides timely research and insights and covers more than 30 companies, accounting for more than 85% of market liquidity and market cap of the ATHEX and 90% of the traded value. It also provides secondary coverage on the largest foreign markets and listed large cap names. The firm's Institutional Sales and Trading desk offers sales and execution services to Greek and global institutional clients involved in domestic equities and derivatives by providing valuable local insight and idea-focused investment advice. Through its broad sales network, Eurobank Equities also maintains a leading position in the retail brokerage segment, offering access to a full range of investment products, including trading in stocks, derivatives, bonds and mutual funds in both the Greek and international markets. Eurobank Equities also provides market-making services in both the cash and derivatives market. EUROBANK is listed on Athens Stock Exchange.
More information
Details
- Publication date
- 20 November 2024
- Author
- Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs