BP, HSBC, RBS Among UK Companies Awarded for Top Shareholder Communications; BP Big Winner at Investor Relations Industry's Premier Event

Business Wire, June 15, 2005

LONDON -- Last night, over 800 corporate investor relations professionals, CEOs, CFOs and IR consultants gathered at Old Billingsgate Market in the City to honour the top corporate communicators among UK companies. The event was the 15th annual IR Magazine UK Awards, hosted by Cross-Border Publishing, organiser of IR Magazine Awards & Conferences. The gala evening, presided over by Jimmy Carr, awards companies and individuals who excel in a number of categories related to investor relations, including corporate governance and disclosure.

Among the companies that stood out for their IR efforts this year were Acambis, Biocompatibles International, BP and Hammerson. Acambis and Biocompatibles shared the grand prix for best smaller company investor relations while BP won the grand prix for best overall investor relations and Hammerson took home the grand prix for best investor relations from a FTSE 250 company.

BP swept the awards, taking home top honours for five out of 24 categories and winning the evening's top prize: the grand prix for best overall investor relations. The energy group also won for best UK company investor relations in the US market, best annual report from a FTSE 100 company and best investor relations officer in the FTSE 100 category, which was shared by Peter Hall and Fergus Macleod.

Banking conglomerate HSBC won over investors in the area of best disclosure practice and best corporate governance. Investors were also impressed with RBS' and United Business Media's improvement in shareholder communication, awarding them the prize for most progress in investor relations in the FTSE 100 and non-FTSE 100 categories, respectively. A list of all winners in each category is attached.

For the past 15 years, Cross-Border Publishing, publishers of IR magazine, has commissioned an annual independent survey of the investment community to identify those companies considered to be leading exponents of investor relations in the UK. The research, conducted this year by Mary Maude Research, surveyed 648 sell-side and buy-side analysts, portfolio managers and retail investors. It also encapsulates industry changes, reviews investors' requirements and investigates contemporary developments affecting the IR profession.

In addition, in what is considered one of the most in-depth surveys of the UK investment community on IR, 200 respondents also shared their views on the impact of corporate governance, readiness of international financial reporting standards (IFRS), communication with executive and non-executive directors and the necessity of non-executive financial specialists. The survey found 50 percent of those polled believe unequivocally that good corporate governance improves a company's share price in the long term, suggesting that good corporate governance makes companies worth investing in. The survey results are published in Investor Perception Study, UK 2005: Winning companies, winning IR strategies,

Adrienne Baker, editor-in-chief of IR magazine, says, 'The survey results have always served as a benchmark of best practice IR. It's important to remember and underscore that the majority of companies carry out transparent shareholder communications and our awards are a way of singling out those individuals and companies that have truly distinguished themselves through their IR performance.'

About IR magazine and the IR Magazine Awards

Published in New York and London by Cross-Border Publishing, IR magazine is the only global publication focused on the interface between companies and their investors. IR magazine has hosted annual awards ceremonies in the US, the UK, continental Europe and Canada since 1991, with a combined attendance of more than 6,000 investor relations professionals. For more information, go to www.irawards.com.

Grand prix for best overall investor relations
Winner: BP
Highly commended: Barclays
                  RBS

Grand prix for best smaller company investor relations
Winners: Acambis, Biocompatibles International
Highly commended: Hyder Consulting
                  Rok Property Solutions

Grand prix for best investor relations from a FTSE 250 company
Winner: Hammerson
Highly commended: Aggregate Industries
                  ARM Holdings

Lifetime Achievement in investor relations
Winner: Peter Horsman

Best investor relations officer - FTSE 100
Winner: Peter Hall & Fergus MacLeod - BP
Highly commended:  Fay Dodds & Stuart Ford - GUS
                   Richard O'Connor - RBS

Best investor relations officer - non-FTSE 100
Winner: Peregrine Riviere - The Carphone Warehouse Group
Highly commended: John Denning - Carillion
                  Chris Smith - Hammerson
                  Mark Boyle - WH Smith

Most progress in investor relations - FTSE 100
Winner: RBS
Highly commended: Land Securities Group
                  Royal Dutch/Shell Group

Most progress in investor relations - non-FTSE 100
Winner: United Business Media
Highly commended: Cairn Energy
                  Matalan

Best annual report - FTSE 100
Winner: BP
Highly commended: The British Land Company
                  HSBC Holdings
                  Land Securities Group

Best annual report - non-FTSE 100
Winner: Pilkington
Highly commended: ARM Holdings
                  Hammerson
                  Tomkins

Best board communications
Winner: Barclays
Highly commended: BG Group
                  BHP Billiton
                  GUS
                  RBS

Best communication of shareholder value
Winner: Barclays
Highly commended: BP
                  O2

Best corporate governance
Winner: HSBC Holdings
Highly commended: BP
                  Standard Chartered

Best crisis management
Winner: Royal Dutch/Shell Group
Highly commended: AstraZeneca
                  Premier Foods

Best CSR practice
Winner: Standard Chartered
Highly commended: BP
                  Rio Tinto

Best disclosure practice
Winner: HSBC Holdings
Highly commended: Aviva
                  BP

Best financial media relations
Winner: HBOS
Highly commended: BP
                  Cadbury Schweppes
                  ICI
                  Reuters

Best investor relations by an Aim company
Winner: Majestic Wine
Highly commended: ASOS
                  Medal Entertainment & Media
                  Sportingbet

Best investor relations during a takeover
Winner: Aggregate Industries
Highly commended: BHP Billiton
                  Xstrata

Best investor relations for a new issue
Winner: Premier Foods
Highly commended: Halfords Group
                  Virgin Mobile Holdings (UK)

Best investor relations to the retail shareholder
Winner: BP
Highly commended: BT Group
                  RBS

Best investor relations web site - FTSE 100
Winner: BHP Billiton
Highly commended: BP
                  GUS

Best investor relations web site - non-FTSE 100
Winner: GKN
Highly commended: Cairn Energy
                  Hammerson

Best North American company investor relations in the UK market
Winner: Colgate-Palmolive
Highly commended: First Calgary Petroleums
                  The Procter & Gamble Company

Best results meetings and analyst briefings
Winner: BHP Billiton
Highly commended: Barclays
                  BP

Best UK company investor relations in the US market
Winner: BP
Highly commended: GlaxoSmithKline
                  Vodafone Group

Best use of the internet
Winner: Reuters
Highly commended: AstraZeneca
                  BP
                  RBS

Best use of virtual conferencing
Winner: Unilever
Highly commended: BHP Billiton
                  Reuters

Best investor relations by sector

Aerospace & defence
BAE Systems

Automobiles & parts
GKN

Banks/speciality & other finance
RBS

Chemicals
ICI

Construction & building materials
Wolseley

Engineering & machinery
Tomkins

Food producers & processors
Cadbury Schweppes

General retailers
GUS

Pharmaceuticals & biotech
GlaxoSmithKline

IT hardware
ARM Holdings

Insurance & life assurance
Aviva

Leisure & hotels
InterContinental Hotels Group

Media & entertainment
Reuters

Mining
BHP Billiton

Oil & gas
BP

Real estate
Land Securities Group

Software & computer services
The Sage Group

Support services
Serco Group

Telecommunication services
O2

Transport
British Airways

Utilities & electricity
Scottish & Southern Energy