Small Cap Awards 2026: Investor Relations Of The Year

Inaugurated in 2013, the Small Cap Awards is an annual event celebrating and rewarding the finest in the sub-£350m market cap quoted company sector.

The Awards celebrates those professionals and companies that work within the AIM and Aquis communities and is attended by listed companies, institutions, fund managers, brokers and advisors.

The 2026 Awards will be held on Thursday 11th June 2026 at Merchant Taylors Hall in London.

The nominees for Investor Relations of the Year are as follows:

Time Finance

Time Finance’s purpose is to help UK businesses thrive and survive through the provision of flexible funding facilities, providing a crucial role in underpinning business growth and supporting the economy.

Recent solutions include asset finance for a transport company to acquire a luxury sports team coach, providing a funding stream for an environmental waste management specialist to expand and supporting a furniture manufacturer to preserve jobs and restructure during a tough period.

As a non-bank alternative finance provider, Time offers a multi-product range for SMEs primarily concentrating on tailored Asset Finance and Invoice Finance solutions. While focussed on being a business-to-business Tier 2 ‘own-book’ lender (it doesn’t provide consumer finance), 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 its post-covid divestment of non-core consumer products. The business moved forward with a simplified structure focussing on B2B lending, while expanding its product offering within asset-based lending. The business also invested in proven industry leaders which have now been successfully embedded. A medium-term strategy, running to May 2025, was successfully implemented, resulting in a doubling of its gross lending book and significant organic growth in profits, with a continual strengthening of its balance sheet.

Its current strategy, running from May 2025 to 2028, aims to deliver further lending book growth to £300m+, controlled arrears by maintaining resilience and quality in its book, increased operational leverage and higher PBT margins, with an increased return on equity by balancing growth, robust controls and efficiency gains.

Time’s ability to manage risk continues to be central to its success and is based on stringent credit management and vital diversification. With no sector comprising more than 15% of the total book, and the top ten only representing one third, risk is substantially mitigated. In addition to this, it has an skilled and experienced risk team and comprehensive security provisions. The results have been well controlled net arrears and write off levels comfortably within its target range.

Today, the Company supports thousands of UK SMEs, has grown its lending book for nineteen consecutive quarters and is driving strong increases in profitability. It has long-term, supportive and diversified funding partners, that include the British Business Bank and NatWest, and has over £95m of lending funding headroom. It is equipped with a strong 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.

Tungsten West

Tungsten West is focused on restarting production at the world-class, construction-ready and fully permitted Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon, UK. The company has built a proactive investor relations strategy that encourages transparency and accessibility to build trust with investors.

Strong investor communications have been key to notifying the market on developments at Tungsten West as Hemerdon progresses back into production. They have also been utilised to highlight tungsten’s critical mineral status and the project’s significance within the tungsten market. Currently, over 80% of global tungsten supply comes from China, but export restrictions have tightened, increasing the need for a secure Western supply. Hemerdon has the potential to generate over 20% of the world’s tungsten supply outside of China which is vital for defence, automotive manufacturing, and energy generation.

The past 18 months have been a period of significant progress for Tungsten West as it moves closer to production. The company has continued to inform investors of its developments via clear and consistent communications across regulatory announcements, shareholder webinars, and conferences and events, instilling confidence in management’s strategy.

These developments included the publication of a development and economic plan in May 2025, highlighting strong project economics and a clear roadmap to production. Shortly afterwards, Hemerdon was designated a Strategic Project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, emphasising its significance. This was followed by an updated feasibility study, which formally marked the commencement of fundraising efforts.

In late 2025, a successful processing trial was conducted, and an EPC agreement was reached for the new build crushing, screening and ore sorter facility. In addition to this, the business was recapitalised with the conversion of outstanding debt to equity.

By early 2026, a structural shift in the tungsten market had sent market prices higher, leading to substantially improved project economics. A successful £44 million equity raise was completed in February 2026, and final stage due diligence advanced on the remaining project debt package.

With funding taking shape, all major sub-contractors have been appointed, preparatory earthworks have commenced, key senior leadership roles have been filled, and a mining equipment finance package has been agreed. The company is targeting first phase re-start of fines gravity processing in Q3 2026, coarse gravity processing in Q4, and full project commissioning in Q1 2027.

Tungsten West’s investor relations strategy has ensured clear, transparent and accessible communication and engagement with shareholders. This trust is reflected in the share price increase of over 1,000% since the start of 2025 (as of 20 April 2026).

SDI Group Plc

SDI Group plc is a buy-and-build group specialising in the acquisition and development of companies that design and manufacture products for use in the lab equipment, industrial & scientific sensors and the industrial & scientific products markets. SDI’s portfolio companies serve a broad spectrum of specialised markets, ranging from advanced industrial technologies (aerospace & defense, manufacturing, semiconductors and precision measurement) to scientific and medical applications (life sciences, healthcare, astronomy). SDI’s businesses occupy carefully chosen niches in global growth sectors, supplying the kind of precision-critical tools that help customers solve complex, real-world challenges.

The Group’s growth strategy is underpinned by two clear pillars: driving organic growth within its portfolio companies and acquiring complementary technology businesses with established reputations in global markets that underpin long-term value creation. This disciplined approach has produced a consistent track record of compounding growth.

The most recent half-year results, for the six months to 30 October 2025, demonstrated continued progress of the investment strategy. Revenue grew 10.1% to £34.0m, with 3.2% coming from organic growth and the remainder from acquisitions. Adjusted operating profit rose 17.7% to £4.6m, and adjusted profit before tax increased 21.7% to £3.8m. The Group completed the acquisitions of Severn Thermal Solutions and Collins Walker in calendar year 2025, as well as the acquisition of PRP Optoelectronics in February 2026. Management reiterated full-year guidance for FY26, targeting revenues of around £75m.

Portfolio news has been equally substantive: InspecVision was recognised with the King’s Award for Enterprise and won the Best Award for Innovation at Blechexpo for its AI-powered system; Monmouth Scientific completed a 1,700 sq ft cleanroom for Parker Hannifin; and Scientific Vacuum Systems secured a £2.2m contract with a major consumer brand.

The breadth of SDI’s portfolio helps it to navigate volatility in challenging markets and deliver organic growth. At the same time, SDI continues to drive inorganic growth through its active acquisition pipeline, identifying attractive opportunities to add to its proven track record of value-enhancing acquisitions in high-growth niche markets.

Results announcements, both interims and finals, are paired with live investor presentations led by CEO Stephen Brown and CFO Amitabh Sharma, hosted on the Investor Meet Company platform, open to all existing and potential shareholders. These are available on the SDI Investor Hub on their website, where details of the investment case are also accessible. Group Head of Corporate Development, James Dimitriou, also frequently hosts meetings with both existing and prospective investors.

Sell-side analyst coverage from both Progressive Equity Research alongside corporate brokers Cavendish and Stifel ensures the equity story reaches a broad audience.

SDI Group has consistently made investor relations a priority, delivering regular, meaningful, and open communication that keeps shareholders informed at every stage of the Group’s growth.

Solid State PLC

Solid State plc (AIM: SOLI) is a leading value-added electronics group supplying industrial and defence markets with durable components, assemblies and manufactured systems for use in critical applications, with a particular emphasis on harsh operational environments. Solid State’s products are found around the world, from the ocean floor and into space, ensuring the smooth operation of systems that augment our everyday lives.

The Company has core capabilities in industrial and ruggedised computing, battery power solutions, antennas, secure radio systems, imaging technologies, and electronic components & displays; delivering trusted technology for demanding applications in the quest for innovation, solving its customers’ unmet needs by turning ideas into plans and plans into products.

Operating through three divisions (Systems, Power and Components) the Group thrives on complex engineering challenges, often requiring design-in support and component sourcing. Serving a wide range of industries, with a particular expertise in defence, energy production, aerospace, environmental, oceanographic, industrial, robotics, medical, life sciences, and transportation. The Solid State trading brands have become synonymous with quality and reliability. The Group operates under the brands of Steatite, Solsta, Custom Power, Pacer, Active Silicon, Gateway, Durakool and Q-Par.

Innovation, reliability and a focus on structural growth markets have all contributed to recent growth in revenue and profitability, and initiatives to design-in value-added enhancements and to align with the future needs of the client base have seen an improving order book position across all three divisions.

Geo-political conditions have pushed defence and security up the public spending agenda, with a particular focus on advanced communications equipment in the Systems division and drone and autonomous technology applications in the Power division.

Of increasing priority is the sovereign capability offered in UK and US markets as procurement policy favours onshore and domestic supply.

Solid State has an ambitious mid-term growth strategy based on product and market development, underpinned by a customer focused, engineering-led go to market proposition. With manufacturing facilities in UK and USA, Solid State are the trusted experts with the technical knowledge, connections, and adaptability to solve the problems the electronic community can’t solve alone.