The responsibilities of each of the five main advisers can be summarised as follows:
Corporate Adviser
A company's adviser - usually an investment bank, corporate finance house, stockbroker or accountancy firm − plays a pivotal role in the flotation, advising the company, liaising with the Exchange and UK Listing Authority (UKLA), and co-ordinating the other advisers.
For some transactions, the UKLA requires the company to appoint a sponsor which will provide the issuer with specific expertise drawn from its involvement in previous transactions. The UKLA keeps an up to date list of sponsors − please click here for details.
Accountant
The reporting accountant is responsible for reviewing and auditing the company’s finances for potential investors.
Corporate lawyer
The company’s lawyers draw up all the agreements surrounding the flotation. They are also responsible for the due diligence process, which involves verifying statements in the prospectus and other documents.
Corporate broker
The broker is the company’s main interface with the investment community. As well as advising the company and its sponsor on market conditions and the likely level of demand, the corporate broker actively markets the shares to potential investors, and advises on the best method of flotation, size of the issue, timing and price.
Financial PR company
The PR adviser is responsible for promoting the company and its prospects to the investment community. In the run-up to the flotation, the PR company helps to create the analyst presentations. Afterwards it will advise on the ongoing investor relations strategy.
A Practical Guide to Listing covers the advisers’ roles in greater detail. Click here to download a pdf.