Archive for January 9th, 2012
SMEs hail success of retail bonds
Retail bonds and equity – whereby smaller companies go directly to their customers for financing – have notched up a strong start to the year, with two issuers exceeding their investment targets.
BrewDog, Scotland’s biggest independent brewery, on Thursday closed its “equity for punks” scheme ahead of schedule after reaching its £2.2m target early. Investors, who could subscribe for a minimum £95 worth of shares, bought an average £372 allotment apiece. The biggest investment was £25,000.
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This came on the heels of Ecotricity exceeding the £10m target set for its retail bond. The independent green electricity supplier on Tuesday said it had pulled in offers totalling £16.2m for its second retail bond – surpassing the 43 per cent oversubscription on its inaugural bond.
Retail bonds and equity are gaining in popularity as small and medium-sized enterprises struggle to raise financing from banks. Since the first retail bond was launched in mid-2009 by King of Shaves, which sells male grooming products, more SMEs are turning to their customers.
BrewDog, which is raising capital to build a new low-carbon brewery and open more bars, benefited from craft beer fans touting the equity deal on social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
James Watt, co-founder, said the early take-up of its shares showed that people were not just looking for an alternative to mass-market beer but that “for an alternative way to invest their money, a way that bypasses banks, brokers and global mega corporations”.
Dean Mayer, lead adviser at Fidelitas, the specialist retail bond advisory business that managed Ecotricity’s brace of bonds, said the growing use of these products demonstrated that “UK SMEs do have real and attractive alternatives when seeking finance”.
He added: “It’s arguably still a nascent market and fundraising tool but one that is already proving popular with companies and investors alike and gaining ground fast.
“We’re now talking to a very diverse range of companies who are interested in and excited about using this method . . . and anticipate further launches in the months ahead.”
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Mobile technology applications to replace eco-labels?
Advances in mobile technology are increasing the number of consumer products with smart barcodes. Although this development is encouraging more sustainable products, Organic Monitor, a research, consulting and training company that focuses on the global organic and related product industries, believes the implications are far reaching and could eventually lead to the demise of some eco-labels.
Eco-labels currently play an important role in marking sustainable products. Indeed, green symbols and logos are becoming ubiquitous on foods, cosmetics, household cleaning products, textiles, furniture and even toys. However, says Organic Monitor, some consumers are becoming disillusioned with eco-labels because of the shortcomings of many standards and lack of transparency. For instance, the proliferation in food eco-labels is causing consumer confusion whereby many cannot distinguish between Organic, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and other eco-labels. A growing number of consumers are now turning to mobile technology applications to meet their informational needs.
Mobile devices enable consumers to get a wealth of information on products from their Quick Response (QR) barcodes. Consumers seeking sustainable products can get details on the product’s environmental, social and even economic footprint whilst shopping. Some brands allow consumers to use the barcodes to ‘track and tell’ the product origins. Indeed, the technology is becoming popular on fruits and vegetable products as they allow consumers to meet the growers.
Organic Monitor sees US-based GoodGuide as a frontrunner in mobile technology applications. By downloading the smart application on their mobile phones, consumers can get details on various health, environment and society parameters of their products. The GoodGuide gives ratings for almost 100,000 consumer products and companies. As will be shown in the upcoming Sustainable Foods Summit, Horizon Organic milk has lower environmental rating record then Nesquick strawberry milk. In the personal care sector, Nature’s Gate natural baby shampoo is more toxic than a Johnson & Johnson’s conventional shampoo. By rating products on various criteria, it highlights the shortcomings of many sustainable products.
As consumers become information savvy, they are demanding more from sustainable products. Organic – claimed to be the world’s largest eco-label for consumer products – has grown to represent a USD 60 billion industry spanning foods, textiles, cosmetics, flowers and related products. Although organic is the most sustainable form of agriculture, production standards do not factor in CO2, H20 and energy footprints. Thus, an organic apple from Latin America can have a higher environmental impact than a locally grown conventional one. Similarly, a fair trade coffee can give a positive social contribution to the African grower but still have an adverse effect on the environment.
The major advantage of mobile technology, according to Organic Monitor, is that it can give a holistic picture of a product’s sustainability credentials. Whereas the shortcoming of most eco-labels is that they look at some ethical / ecological aspects in isolation. By ‘naming and shaming’ brands, product rating systems like those of the GoodGuide also encourage companies to develop more sustainable products. Thus, companies with organic products are now looking at social aspects, whilst those with fair trade products take environmental considerations more seriously. The technology is also making other sustainability indicators like carbon emissions and packaging footprint prominent.
Consumers are likely to benefit from greater transparency and accountability from brand owners; however a question mark hangs over the future of existing eco-labels. With over 500 symbols and logos representing sustainable food products, many consumers are lost in the maze of eco-labels. To these consumers, mobile technology gives an exit route whilst maintaining their green purchasing behavior.
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