EQN.L Share News (EQN)

(Sharecast News) - Share services and fintech business Equiniti Group told shareholders on Thursday that social and political pressure was changing the way companies approached governance, which had led to "unprecedented growth" at its new acquisition, Boudicca.The FTSE 250 firm said Boudicca, its proxy solicitation business specialising in shareholder communications and corporate governance advisory, had won 41 new mandates since it was acquired in May.That activity reportedly reflected the growing pressure on both companies and institutional investors, who Equiniti said were feeling the need to act responsibly, particularly when the latter were exercising voting rights.It said that, with major household names such as Tesco and FirstGroup among the client wins, half of the new appointments related to AGM votes as companies looked to develop a "constructive two-way dialogue" with shareholders.Equiniti's recent annual general meeting trends research showed that executive pay and board diversity remained under the spotlight when came comes to remuneration and appointment or reappointment votes.The new UK Corporate Governance Code and Investment Association Public Register had also led to a greater focus on shareholder engagement and voting in 2018, it said.Allied to governance trends, merger and acquisition activity had also been a driver for business, Equiniti reported.Boudicca had acted on 18 deals worth around £60bn in 2018, including Sky's takeover by Comcast.The growing number of activist hedge funds trying to capitalise on 'bumpitrage' opportunities, by acquiring stakes in target companies to hold out for improved bids before an offer was 'full and final', was said to be putting boards on high alert during transactions. "Proxy solicitation was inherited from the US and until recently was seen as necessary only in problematic situations," said Boudicca founder and managing director Sheryl Cuisia."Today's ever-increasing corporate governance requirements, heightened investor and proxy adviser scrutiny, and increased shareholder activism, means that mandating a proxy solicitation consultant is becoming a fundamental necessity."Companies want specialist resource dedicated to handling all aspects of the proxy voting process to ensuring maximised positive votes, while investors are under increasing pressure to act responsibly."Paul Matthews, chief executive officer of Equiniti's boardroom business, added that clients were "some of the largest and best-known" businesses in the UK."The interest they have shown in Boudicca's services is both a testament to the skill and expertise of Sheryl's team, and an acknowledgement of the UK's changing governance landscape," Matthews explained."With our newly established proxy solicitation and governance team in EQ US we look forward to similar success as we go into 2019."