Growth Company Awards 2002

We are delighted to announce the results of the 2002 Growth Company Awards, sponsored by KBC Peel Hunt. Now in their second year, the awards are intended to be a real measure of quality for those involved in the growth company arena. They also represent what we believe to be the most impartial and equitable method of choosing award winners.

The winners should be proud of their achievement. By far the most awards have been decided by firms' client companies telling us, in strict confidence, how satisfied they are with their professional advisers. The companies had nothing to gain or lose by doing this, so we can assume they are being honest. The awards should be seen as an indisputable validation from client companies that the winners are striving to deliver an excellent service.

Our exhaustive research led to the compilation a shortlist of the 'Top five' firms in each category. These were then ranked by our independent judging panel. The judges were chosen as respected experts in their fields. We thank them for their time and care.

The company and fund shortlists were based on financial performance, with no account taken of share price movement.

As with last year's awards, the questionnaire responses for the professional adviser categories suggest Aim companies are satisfied, if not delighted, with their advisers. The vast majority of responses fell into the 'neutral' and 'good' categories. However, like last year, the strongest views were reserved for advisers perceived to be doing a bad job. High costs and poor delivery were a common complaint. These were, it must be stressed, few and far between.

We were delighted to receive the support of KBC Peel Hunt, without which the 2002 Growth Company Awards would not have been possible.

AIM Company of the Year:

MacLellan

Sponsored by Seymour Pierce

This was one of the most closely contested of all the awards, with software firm Tribal, sports and entertainment management group CSS Stellar and support services group MacLellan vying for first place. MacLellan just edged it in our judges' minds.

The shortlist was drawn up following quantitative research among all Aim companies, focusing principally on improvements in earnings per share over the previous reported financial year.

We took into account those companies that have distorted figures due to exceptional corporate events, and, where relevant, interim performance. Our judging panel, made up of analysts, corporate financiers and journalists, then ranked the companies on the shortlist.

The shortlist was compiled in the middle of the spring reporting season, when many companies were updating the market about their financial performance. As a result, some firms' most recent results were not in the database when the shortlist was drawn up for distribution.

AIM Broker of the Year:

Collins Stewart

Sponsored by Binns and Co PR

AIM Adviser of the Year:

Collins Stewart

Sponsored by Baker Tilly

AIM Accountant of the year (joint winners):

The shortlists for the above awards were drawn from responses to a questionnaire sent to all Aim companies. It asked them to rate how satisfied they were with their professional advisers. As with the Company of the Year Award, the shortlists were then sent to a panel of judges. To make the judging as fair as possible, no professionals were asked to judge their peers in the same category.

Ofex Company of the Year:

Legends Surf Shops

The shortlist for this award, as with the Aim Company of the Year category, was derived principally by looking at earnings growth, with turnover growth and business development also considered. The judging panel then ranked the companies.

Ofex Financial Adviser of the Year:

DWA Capital

As with the Aim adviser categories, we sent a questionnaire to all Ofex companies. The judging panel then ranked the advisers.

AIM Fund of the Year (joint winners):

AIM Trust

Pennine AIM VCT

Smaller Companies Fund of the Year:

Close Beacon Investment Trust

These shortlists were put together following analysis of net asset value improvement over a three-year period.

Growth Company Journalist of the Year:

Miles Nolan, Investors Chronicle

The judges were as follows:

Peter Binns, Binns

Bill Brown, Friends Ivory & Sime

Dru Edmonstone, Durlacher

Richard Feigen, Seymour Pierce

Ken Ford, Teather & Greenwood

Geoff Foster, Daily Mail

Simon Griffiths, Theodore Goddard

Adam Hart, KBC Peel Hunt

Bob Holt, Mears Group

Richard Oldworth, Buchanan Communications

Chilton Taylor, Baker Tilly

Robert Tyerman, Growth Company Investor (former editor of the OffExchange newsletter)

Mark Watson-Mitchell, SQC Research

Peter Webb, Unicorn Asset Management