Small Cap Awards 2025: Investor Relations Success Award Nominees

Held annually, the Small Cap Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the UK’s sub-£350m market cap quoted company sector. This prestigious event brings together industry leaders, fostering trust, innovation, and excellence among smaller quoted companies.

The awards will recognise companies and participants listed on or before January 1, 2024, across various categories. Winners will be unveiled at a black-tie gala dinner on Thursday 19th June, at Merchant Taylors’ Hall, City of London

This exclusive event will be attended by institutions, fund managers, brokers, company directors, entrepreneurs, and advisors, providing a unique opportunity to connect with those driving exceptional growth and performance in the small-cap sector over the past year.

The nominees for Investor Relations Success Award are as follows:

Tristel

Tristel plc is a global infection prevention company focussed on preventing the transmission of microbes from one object or person to another by using its unique proprietary chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) chemistry. The Company is a market leader in the manual decontamination of medical devices which accounts for 87% of sales, under the Tristel brand. The Cache brand which makes up 8% of sales, provides products for sporicidal surface disinfection, providing a more sustainable alternative to commonly used pre-wetted plastic wipes. Tristel’s manually applied, chlorine dioxide high-level disinfectants are used across multiple hospital departments. Its products can be instantly deployed at the point-of-care, providing a fast, highly efficacious and safe alternative to automated processes.

Tristel’s head office and manufacturing facility is located near Cambridge and operates globally employing approximately 270 people across 16 subsidiaries selling into 40+ countries. The Company targets annual revenue growth of between 10% and 15% and an EBITDA margin of at least 25%. The business is profitable, with no debt and has a progressive dividend policy.

Tristel’s success in 2024/2025 can be attributed to a combination of strategic focus, international expansion, identifying profitable niches and delivering its differentiated offering all whilst hitting key milestones, positioning the Group for sustainable growth. The transition of CEO was executed seamlessly, ensuring a refreshed strategic focus, whilst maintaining the core values that have built the Company’s success. Success in the US has also played a key part. Achieving the FDA clearance for Tristel ULT, a high-level disinfectant (“HLD”) foam for use on endo-cavity ultrasound probes and skin surface transducers, provides the Company the opportunity to leverage the significance of an FDA clearance in countries that look to the USA regulator for their own practice, such as countries across Central and South America. The Company has also filed a Premarket Notification 510(k) with the FDA for Tristel OPH, a HLD foam for use on ophthalmic medical devices and after submitting additional information expects a decision from the FDA by the end of June 2025.

In addition, Tristel ULT technology was included in the revised American National Standard, a set of guidelines which state the selection and use of liquid HLDs and gaseous chemical sterilizers that have been cleared for marketing by the FDA for use in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The Group participated in the public consultation for the guidelines and the update published ensures that chlorine dioxide foam is recognised as a method of HLD, validating the technology further.

The Company engages with both institutional and private investors with equal enthusiasm, via bi-annual roadshows, one-to-one investor meetings, webinars, open days, capital market days and participated in events such as Mello and ShareSoc.

Concurrent Technologies Plc

Concurrent Technologies plc (Concurrent) is an innovative leader in designing, developing and manufacturing high-performance embedded Plug-In Cards (PICs) and systems for some of the world’s largest OEMs

Primarily, the company supplies defence and aerospace, with secondary markets in telecoms and scientific instrumentation. Concurrent is known for delivering reliable, high-quality solutions that thrive in tough conditions, without compromising on performance. With 40 years of expertise, Concurrent aims to release its products ‘concurrently’ with the launch of new semiconductor technology from developers such as Intel®, helping customers to boost their own products in environments demanding an advantage. The company’s strong reputation for flexibility and long-term support underpins trusted relationships across its markets.

In FY24 Concurrent delivered a record year, with revenue and profit up 27% and 40% respectively, alongside a 28% increase in gross profit and a 30% rise in EBITDA.

The company secured 22 design wins (where customers integrate products into their programmes) in the year including 10 ‘major wins’ which represent a lifetime value to the business of at least £100m. Notably, in the year Concurrent also secured its largest-ever contract of $6m with a major US defence and aerospace prime contractor.

To support the growth of the Products Business Unit, which designs and manufactures computer boards, the company doubled the capacity of its Colchester facility during FY24 and post year-end, it reached an agreement to take a 20-year lease on a new property to house its headquarters and manufacturing operations, positioning the business for sustained expansion.

The Systems Business Unit, which is still in its early stages of development, performed well following the acquisition of Phillips Aerospace in the prior year. Early success has been driven by a significant $3.7m design win contract with a leading defence platform provider in Asia.

With a closing FY24 backlog of around $5 million and a growing pipeline, the Systems Business Unit is expected to deliver strong year-on-year growth in FY25. To support this expansion, the unit will relocate to a modern facility in Los Angeles in the second half of the year.

Looking ahead, Concurrent will continue to launch cutting-edge products and drive design wins across both business units, deepening relationships with new and existing customers.

FY25 has begun well with a significant £3.4m order for the company’s VME-based 6U computer boards from a long-standing European customer. This strong start has been strengthened by the launch of Kratos, one of the first and most powerful rugged plug-in cards available today, built on Intel’s latest 6516P-B processor which the company had access to six months early.

The progress at Concurrent reflects a relentless commitment to talent and culture. Its defined culture, which is centred on ‘get things done’, ‘no spectators’, ‘ambition’, and ‘buzzing, embodies a mindset that differentiates the business and keeps it ahead of the competition.

Light Science Technologies Holdings plc

Light Science Technologies Holdings plc (AIM: LST) is an innovative technology and manufacturing business providing real-world solutions, targeting issues including global food security and fire safety. Since its IPO on AIM in October 2021, the Group has grown and established its three core divisions – AgTech (“AGT”); contract electronics manufacturing (“CEM”); and passive fire protection (“PFP”).

Its portfolio approach is designed to provide visibility over short, medium and long term growth opportunities, with the Group focused on developing robust solutions in its rapidly growing target sectors. Management has positioned the business to take advantage of domestic and global pressures, which are underpinning demand for its solutions.

The Agtech division focuses on helping growers/farmers increase their yields and extend their growing season, whilst reducing input costs and maximising operational efficiencies – with its sensor and lighting technologies and environmental control systems, addressing food security, resource efficiency and climate resilience. It already has relationships in place with key partners including Richel Group and Agrolux Nederland B.V., a subsidiary of Scotts Miracle-Gro, and is positioned to further grow its reach from indoor farming into broadacre. Future opportunities include the development of its sensor technologies into monitoring of water pollution, air pollution and carbon credits.

The CEM division has produced electronic products for over 28 years and has a loyal customer base to which it supplies high quality, volume manufacturing services. Driven by increasing demand for on-shoring and supply chain security, it sells into a range of markets including Agtech, accordingly de-risking the Group. It has over 75 active clients, with key markets including pest control, automotive, sports entertainment and lighting. Future focus will be on expanding to new markets such as healthcare and defence.

The most recent addition to the Group is the PFP division, which is generating significant cash flow and high margin growth, underpinning the Group’s near-term target of sustained profitability. Having established this division in November 2023, it provides an entirely new revenue line, supplying a legislation-backed industry.

The PFP division installs Injectaclad – a fire resistant graphite barrier that can be retrofitted into building cavities, reinstating fire resistance and containing the spread of fire and smoke, in compliance with regulatory requirements. This is a highly cost-effective and minimally disruptive solution within the substantial growth market for retroactive fire protection.

Driven by the 2021 Fire Safety Act and 2022 Building Safety Act, over 44,000 UK buildings taller than 11 metres require remediation, with £6.1bn government funding already allocated and enough work to last decades. Since inception towards the end of 2023, the division has won 11 UK building projects, worth a total of £2.7m in contract value, and has a current quoted pipeline of £16m..

The three-pronged approach offers significant opportunity for the Group, with the addition of new product lines and partnerships underpinning its ability to build on its core turnkey solutions. Its expanding product mix is underpinning record margin growth and the Group is well placed to provide long term upside.

Time Finance Plc

Time Finance helps UK businesses thrive and survive through the provision of flexible funding facilities. It offers a multi-product range for UK SMEs primarily concentrating on Asset Finance and Invoice Finance but with the ability to also offer Secured Loans as part of an Asset Based Lending facility. While focussed on being an ‘own-book’ lender, the Group does retain the ability to broke-on deals where appropriate, enabling it to optimise business levels through market and economic cycles.

Time stands out as a lender that offers flexibility, speed of service and a personal approach, whilst being equipped with a suitable range of products – differentiating it from traditional banks, challenger banks, alternative finance platforms, and quoted and private companies.

The Company’s recent success can be traced back to establishing a four-year medium-term strategy in the middle of 2021. This targeted national recognition as an SME funder, a doubling of its gross lending book, organic growth in profits to exceed pre-covid levels, and a significant strengthening of its balance sheet by May 2025, which has all been achieved. This period has also seen the business divest its non-core consumer products, rebrand as Time Finance (previously 1pm and multiple sub-brands), moving forward with a simplified structure focussing purely on B2B lending, while expanding the product offering within invoice and asset finance. The business has also invested in proven industry leaders who have now been successfully embedded.

Time’s ability to manage risk has been central to its success. This is based on stringent credit management combined with significant diversification. With no sector comprising more than 15% of the total book, and the top ten only representing about one third, risk is therefore substantially mitigated. In addition to this, it has both an experienced risk team and takes comprehensive security provisions whenever possible. The results have seen well controlled net arrears and write-off levels, both of which sit comfortably within its target range.

Today, the Company supports thousands of UK SMEs, has grown its lending book for fifteen consecutive quarters which is driving strong increases in profitability. It has long-term, supportive and well spread funding partners, that include the British Business Bank and NatWest, and has over £90m of lending facility headroom to fuel future growth. It has a strong, robust and growing balance sheet and expects favourable trading conditions to continue in the near term.

Investors have increasingly taken notice of Time, and it has seen growing recognition of its 10+ year track record of profitability whatever the market conditions and consistent record of over delivery. Its proven, sustainable model also offers strong visibility of future earnings.

It recently implemented a new strategy through to mid-2028 aiming to deliver further lending book growth to £300m+, continue to control its arrears by maintaining resilience and quality in its book, increase operational leverage to achieve PBT margins of c.25%, and increase return on equity to the mid-teens by balancing growth, robust controls and efficiency gains.