German companies dominate European Investor Relations Awards based on votes of analysts and investors

LONDON, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IR Magazine, the global voice for investor relations, has announced the winners of the IR Magazine Awards for best IR practices across Europe.

BASF, Unilever, Lanxess, Allianz, RWE and Novo Nordisk all walked away with coveted IR Magazine Awards in the presence of more than 350 investor relations professionals, CFOs, investors, analysts and corporate advisers last night. New to the winners' list this year were Dragerwerk and Moncler, while AkzoNobel claimed the prize for most progress in IR.

The winners of the awards, which have been presented every year since 1991, are identified by means of a comprehensive research survey of 700 buy-side and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers across Europe.

In total, 32 prizes were given out, including 17 pan-European awards, six regional awards and nine awards for best in sector. For the full list of winners, please see the website: www.irmagazine.com/euro2014.

"Over the 26 years since IR Magazine first launched, we've witnessed a massive transformation in investor relations and last night's awards are evidence of the ever-rising standards in Europe," said Janet Dignan, founder of IR Magazine.

The IR Magazine Awards are the industry's most prestigious and respected accolades honoring leading companies and professionals in investor relations at ceremonies in the US, Canada, Brazil and Asia. Now in their 24th year, the IR Magazine Awards ‒ Europe 2014 celebrated the best in IR last night at a black-tie dinner and ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in the West End of London. The awards were hosted by business and economics television presenter Simon Jack.

IR Magazine would like to thank the sponsors of the awards: Arkadin, Barclays, Bloomberg, BNY Mellon, Business Wire, Capita IR Services, CitySavvy, CMi2i, Davy, Espirito Santo Investment Bank, Fairvue Partners, ingage, the IR Society, IR.SOFT and OTC Markets.

Get the complete story:
This year's winning companies are profiled in the IR Magazine Investor Perception Study – Europe 2014, which is available now to pre-order. The report contains comments from the buy side and the sell side explaining why they chose these companies as the best exponents of IR in the region and providing commentary on wider topical issues, such as high-frequency trading and the role of technology in IR. The report also contains interviews with individuals – including IROs, CFOs and CEOs – from the winning companies talking about their success strategies. The report is must-read material for IR professionals, for their advisers and for journalists who write about investor relations in Europe.

About IR Magazine
For over 25 years IR Magazine has remained the only monthly global publication that focuses on the interactions between companies and their investors. IR Magazine helps investor relations professionals achieve more in their IR programs, benchmark their efforts and connect to the global IR community. IR Magazine also hosts events such as awards, think tanks and conferences around the world. To learn more, please visit us online at www.IRmagazine.com, on Twitter @IRMagazine and via our LinkedIn group IR Magazine Leaders.

Media inquiries:
Jana Sanchez, CitySavvy
+44 20 7936 915 or +44 7985 917060
jana@citysavvy.com