Despite prevailing ‘bear’ market conditions, World Investor Link – the provider of The  Annual Reports Service and other investor relations products – announced today that it had strengthened its position as one of the world’s leading Investor Relations companies with the signing of 100 new clients in the first six months of 2001. 

Leading European exchange-listed companies subscribe to the Annual Report Service in order to improve their communication with serious investors, companies joining in 2001 include: Agfa-Gevaert N.V., Anglo Irish Bank Corporation plc, Bentalls plc, Bradford & Bingley plc, Brixton Estate plc, Chubb plc, Datamonitor plc, Degussa AG, Frans Maas Groep N.V., Geest Plc, Lafarge, Orange SA, Regus plc, Smith & Nephew plc, Syngenta and Union Minière SA.

The  Annual Reports Service, identified by the “club”  symbol, provides individual investors with free access to the annual reports of over 4,000 companies and the prospectuses and applications for more than 420 U.S. and Canadian mutual funds, courtesy of World Investor Link and its 150 financial media partners. Investors who use financial Web sites such as FT.com, hemscott.NET, Comdirect, Investors Chronicle, Yahoo! ® Finance, E*Trade and Sharepages can instantly download the full text and graphics a large selection of annual reports, or they may request to have a hardcopy mailed within 24 hours.  Investors can also call a freephone number listed in printed financial publications such as the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal Europe to access the free investor services.

New media channel partnerships formed in the first half of the year total 14 and include German portal, OnVista (www.onvista.de) and UK-based DLJdirect (www.dljdirect.com).

World Investor Link, Ltd. COO Lee Godfrey believes that communication with investors and potential investors has been prioritised by public companies because of the slow market. “The breadth and depth of our media channel partners is particularly attractive to public companies as they gain access to millions of serious investors daily. The quality and focus is yet further refined, as it is the investors who self select the companies in which they intend to make their investment decision. Similarly, investors benefit from exposure to a wealth of investment information enabling them to make better informed decisions.”

Full list of new clients signed by World Investor Link since the beginning of 2001:
 
3i European Technology Trust plc
3i Smaller Quoted Co's Trust plc
4MBO International Electronic AG
Agfa-Gevaert N.V.
Anglo Irish Bank Corporation plc
ARC International plc
Ariane I I
Arxes Information Design AG
Athens Medical Centre S.A.
B.U.S. Berzelius Umwelt-Serv  AG
Bentalls PLC
BFS Asian Assets Trust Ltd
BKN International  AG
Bradford & Bingley plc
Brixton Estate plc
BVRP Software
Chubb plc
Close Finsbury EuroTech Tst Plc
Constantin Film AG
Crown Sports PLC
CSM nv
Datamonitor plc
Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC
Degussa AG
Development Securities PLC
Dresdner Bank AG
Druck Holdings p.l.c.
earthport plc
Edinburgh Pacific & Income
Einstein Group plc
Epcos AG
Exeter Enhanced Income Fund Ltd
Exeter Equity Growth & Inc Fund
Exeter Smaller Cos Inc. Fund Ltd
Expocentric plc
Fleming Managed Income plc
Flomerics Group PLC
Frans Maas Groep N.V.
Gartmore Absolute Growth & Incom
Geest PLC
Glaverbel
Global Opportunities Trust Ltd
Groupe Altadis
Henderson European Micro Trust
Highcroft Investment Trust P.L.C
Hunters Leisure PLC
Incisive Media plc
InTechnology plc
Intrinsic Value Plc
ITIS Holdings plc
JAB Holdings Ltd
K+S AG
Knowledge Support Systems Group
Lafarge
Lambda Physik AG
Lebensart Global Networks AG
LeggMason Inv. Strategic Assets
LeggMason Investors AIM VCT plc
Lighthouse Group plc
Merrill Lynch New Energy Tec plc
Minorplanet Systems plc
Music Choice Europe plc
nCipher plc
Newsplayer Group Plc
Oasis Healthcare plc
OneClickHR plc
OneSaturday plc
Orange SA
Orbital Software Holdings plc
Orco Property Group
P&T Technology AG
patsystems plc
Personal Assets Trust PLC
Power Leisure plc
Probus Estates PLC
Property Acq. and Mgmnt Ltd
Punch international
QuadraNet plc
Quester VCT 4 plc
Raft International plc
Rational AG
Regus plc
ReNeuron Holdings plc
Royal London Growth & Inc Plc
Safestore plc
Sigma Technology Group plc
Smith & Nephew PLC
Staffing Ventures plc
StatPro Group plc
Stilo International plc
Syngenta
Systems Union Group plc
TEAMtalk.com  Group plc
Tech & Internet Prop Svs. plc
Techem Service AG & CO. KG
The Future Network PLC
Town Centre Securities PLC
Transense Technologies plc
TriVest VCT plc
TTP Communications plc
UBC Media Group plc
Umweltkontor Renewable Energy AG
Underwriting & Subscription plc
Union Minière SA
Viel & Cie
Wealth Management Software plc
Weatherly International plc
Web.de AG
Wellington Holdings plc
 
Full list of new media channel partners signed by World Investor Link since the beginning of 2001:
T1ps.com (UK) 

Onvista (Germany)
FR-Invest (France)
Teather & Greenwood (UK)
Boursicoton (France)
SEBdirect (Gernany)
Weekend City Press (UK)
DLJ Direct (UK)
Moneywhispers (UK)
Marketeye (UK)
Webboursier (FR)
FTMarketwatch (Germany)
Luxemburger Wort (Luxemburg)
Luxemburger Wort Online (Luxemburg)