☕️TEA Cup Honours: Do Ya Think UK's Sexy? CEOs Going Full Monty for their Firms, Addressing 28 Questions from ONE Shareholder, Retail IR, Literacy as Capital
Reviewing impactful shareholder engagement—delivered in a 5-minute read. ✨UK companies bringing sexy back to equity capital and the finfluencers who are powering this revival...unrecognised...
TEA Cup Honours Newsletter
Shouting out the companies getting engagement right—and calling in the rest. Welcome to TEA Cup Honours, where inclusive investor engagement takes centre stage.
👇 In this cuppa
This week’s line-up features a mix of iconic British businesses whose AGMs took place over the weeks of 5 and 12 May—some with histories stretching back centuries. It wasn’t curated; these were simply the AGMs I could fit in my schedule. But that alone says something: UK Plc is still rich with legacy, leadership, and latent energy.
TEA Cup Honours - Spotlight on Rentokil Initial CEO, Andy Ransom and more including Prudential’s 28-question marathon!
TEA Cup Deliberations and Next Sessions on 29 May, 5, 12 and 26 June, 3 July
Rise of the Retail IR Ecosystem - Meet the City Finfluencer Plus Pennon’s ‘plain Jane’ ARA is actually a bombshell
NextGen Intelligence - A trust with heart and mind, Literacy Capital, and the NOMAD that knows how to sing to nextgen, Singer Capital
Private investors - that’s you too, company reps, don’t forget about Mello2025 taking place on 3 and 4 June in London! Importantly, please sign the AIC’s petition to facilitate engagement for BOTH retail investors and companies.
Before we honour the people behind the practices, let’s raise our ☕️ tea cups to 12 of the companies that keep the London Stock Exchange ticking: BAE Systems, Rentokil, Rathbones, Centrica, Mondi, Aberdeen, Man Group, Phoenix, Prudential, TP ICAP, and Lloyds.
Last time, Rolls-Royce gave us accidental Gen Z cool. Their following on viral retail investing platform, Trading 212, has grown by another 1k since I posted about them two weeks ago. They now have 206k members on T212 chat! This week, we’re saying it louder: UK equities are sexy—and nextgen shareholders deserve to know it! To prove it, my AI assistant pulled together a crash course in business heritage:👇
And yes, it’s somewhat ironic that the two people who made that case best last week were the outgoing CEO of a recently ailing pest control company and a finfluencer with The Rock’s eyebrow and the City’s credentials.
But maybe that’s the point: the future of capital doesn’t always show up in pinstripes and polished press statements. Sometimes it’s the unexpected voices—real, relatable, and razor-sharp—that remind us UK equities are anything but boring.
Outreach
This newsletter goes to 14,000 contacts—but not always the Honourees themselves. If you know one, please pass it on. 🙏
🎯 And speaking of reach and representation…The City Minister, Emma Reynolds, has formally replied to our open letter on retail investor representation—acknowledging our proposals and passing them to Treasury officials. Encouraging signs, too, from the Chancellor, who’s called for informed public participation and wider consultation on Cash ISAs. Listen to Claer Barrett’s report on this.
📉 The debate, long shaped by a handful of City firms (one with just ~30% AGM turnout), is finally opening up. 📈 Retail inclusion is no longer fringe—it’s on the Treasury’s table.🖼️ (Pictured: Letter from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, 19 May 2025) Progress? Yes with plenty more room for actions and results.
Yesterday is History and Tomorrow is a Mystery. Today is a Gift.
Catch up on previous editions and see who’s earned their place in the TEA Cup Honours list here. Engagement is changing—and we’re here for it.
We’ve been buzzing about Shell’s AGM that took place yesterday—calmly and without incident. Finally! It’s providing very many important lessons, which I have started sharing here. We will be adding Shell to our forthcoming ‘Graceful Governance’ edition, which will also feature our thoughts on Lloyds Banking Group and Aberdeen.
I’m Sheryl Cuisia, founder of TEA – The Engagement Appeal. I care (loudly) about retail inclusion, and our TEAm is building the ecosystem to make that the norm. From sharp finfluencers to switched-on board directors, we’re here to shout out those raising the bar.
📍 For more on TEA Cups and our work, visit teaxall.org/blog
📥 Want to me to help you nextgen your IR engagement? Check out my deck.
TEA Cup Honours:
UK CEOs making energy, finance, and even pest control sound sexy again!
🏆 SPOTLIGHT on Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil Initial: It’s been a tough few months, but rather than piling on, we’re echoing what shareholders expressed at the AGM: Rentokil, which quietly turned 100 this January, is still a great business. One attendee shareholder summed it up brilliantly: ‘The only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and pests’!
Furthermore while some may see activists as ‘pests’, we view Rentokil’s invitation to Trian Partners to join the board as a smart, mature move. As noted in our Activism Resource Library, shareholder activism—when done right—can be a force for good. Rentokil’s core business remains essential (pest control isn’t going anywhere), and with no real AI alternative on the horizon yet, as CEO pointed out, there’s real long-term value if the turnaround gains momentum. Not financial advice. Just opinion.
Rentokil, thanks for a surprisingly delightful AGM—the last word I imagined using when I logged in. I had not actually expected that General Counsel & Company Secretary Rachel Canham would read out ‘sexy’! But I’m glad she did. Funny how one word can change the energy in a room…
🧼 A Legacy Worth Buzzing About
Andy Ransom didn’t just lead Rentokil—he went Full Monty on the role.
📌 Transformed a quiet UK legacy brand into a global pest-control powerhouse
📌 Delivered triple-digit growth in revenue, profit, and market cap
📌 Orchestrated one of the boldest FTSE cross-border deals with the $6.7bn Terminix acquisition
📌 Built a resilient, recurring-revenue model grounded in hygiene, tech, and ESG
His was a tenure of full commitment, bold bets, and lasting impact.
As he hands over the bug spray, the next act has big boots (or traps) to fill.
Bravo, Andy!Pest control has never looked more attractive! ✨
Read TEA’s profile of Andy Ransom here and see our LinkedIn post.
Personal highlight so far: Rentokil’s AGM. Real talk on strategy, setbacks, and recovery—with shareholder support and a CEO who’s clearly built the business. I left thinking: I’d back that. This is what AGMs should do—connect companies with shareholders, especially retail. Only buggy bit? Most directors Zoomed in, and one was a no-show. Otherwise, a strong, informative session.
Two More CEOs With ‘Stock Appeal’
📈 Nicolas Breteau, CEO of TP ICAP: Props for putting nextgen on the map—and in your annual report. More of this, please. We also appreciated your clear, thoughtful response to our questions on TP ICAP’s use of AI across front and back office functions—from chat translation between clients and brokers, to coding, legal, HR, and cyber risk management. While it may be too early to fully measure AI’s societal and environmental impact, it’s clear you’ve got your finger on the pulse—just as you do with blockchain, especially in the context of real-world assets (RWAs) and long-dated wholesale exposures (LWE). Sensible shareholders recognise that success deserves reward. Here’s to continued delivery—and to Gen Z waking up to what you’re building.
🔥 Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica: So many Sids bought British Gas. Now that Sid’s a pensioner passing investing know-how to the next generation, it’s refreshing to see a CEO like O’Shea—plain-speaking, numbers-driven, and quietly relentless. At the AGM, he laid out Centrica’s transformation with clarity and conviction, cutting through jargon and spin. Under his watch, the company has gone from crisis mode to a £7bn market cap, with cash on the books and bold bets on hydrogen and storage. He’s not flashy—but he’s focused. Less hype, more delivery. It’s shareholder capitalism built on substance.
🙌 A shoutout to the Chairs of all three AGMs—Richard Solomons, Richard Berliand, and Kevin O’Byrne—each of whom led with clarity, confidence, and a steady hand. Good governance starts at the top—and it shows when a Chair stands alongside the CEO, not above them.
Kevin O’Byrne stood out for recognising Centrica’s half-a-million-strong retail base and signalling a genuine appetite to strengthen investor engagement—including with Just Tell Sid’s kids and grandkids.
And to Richard B. and Richard S.—I heard you too. Thank you for your openness to building deeper connections with retail shareholders across the board.
🎯Pru Qs! Prudential Powers Through 28 Questions from One Very Engaged Investor at Their 2025 AGM
We’re still early into 2025 AGM season, but the bar has already been set high.
Watch the moment Prudential Co Sec informs the Chair that they have finally gotten through all 28 shareholder questions here!
One shareholder. Twenty-eight questions. One hour. Prudential’s 2025 AGM could’ve felt like a slog—but thanks to the smooth baton-passing between Company Secretary Tom Clarkson and Chair Baroness Shriti Vadera, it was a masterclass in stamina, structure, and serious shareholder respect.
Every question got airtime. The tech worked. The tone held. And governance delivered—at pace. If AGMs were an Olympic sport, this one would’ve podiumed.
Read the full article here and check out the governance community buzz on my LinkedIn post here.
We do not issue a TEA Cup Honours newsletter without first deliberating with TEA Cups Community members. This allows for balanced discourse on the nominees, general observations, current affairs, and any concerns. This week’s deliberations session, held via Teams call on Friday 16 May at 5.30pm, included input from representatives of UKSA (UK Shareholders’ Association) and ShareAction to whom we are grateful for sharing experiences their members may have had that are different from ours. I also had the opportunity to speak off-line with numerous listed company representatives, advisers, and finfluencers whose diverse views help ensure TEA’s content is generally representative of the communities we serve, while always remaining independent.
High-level deliberations notes may be found here or by clicking on the link below.
Next TEA Cups Deliberations Sessions
TEA Cups Honours are shaped by our community—and that could include you. Past Honourees and engaged companies get priority invites, but everyone who cares about governance, engagement, and investing is welcome. After all, we’re all retail shareholders.
Our next TEA Cups Deliberations will take place in the heart of the City (literally) at WeWork, 1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EJ and ONLINE at 5:30pm on the following Thursdays. Those attending in person are welcome to stay for light refreshments and networking at 1 Poultry (or nearby Ned Club or Soho House).
29 May | 5 June | 12 June | 26 June | 3 July - Sign-up will open soon.
Rise of the Retail IR Economy:
Forget ‘dumb money.’ Today’s self-directed retail is smart money—tapped into the deep knowledge of finfluencers like David Belle and uncompromising in their search for value and community. Today’s customers are also shareholders. Take Pennon Group’s plain-Jane annual report. Open the s.172 section, and it hits you with how companies should be building a customer-shareholder culture to their own advantage.
Read the article on David Belle here.
Read the article on Pennon’s Annual Report here.
4. NextGen Intelligence
Leaving you with some nextgen gems:
The investment trust founded by a national trust that is proving that —alongside kindness and backing UK entrepreneurs. The corporate broker helping clients sing to the nextgen.
Literacy Capital: The investment trust founded by national treasure Paul Pindar and born out of a charitable mission—now proving that literacy is capital. It’s delivered a 411% NAV return since inception, while donating over £11.6m to UK literacy causes. All with kindness, and a knack for backing UK entrepreneurs.
Plus: Lit Cap’s NOMAD, Singer Capital Markets, are showing they know how to sing to nextgen investors and value inclusive IR [see my LinkedIn post], and the viral Gen Z platform every company should be on. Retail is no longer optional. It’s essential. See my LinkedIn post here.
Finally…
The viral Gen Z investing platform every company should be on. Watch my brief intro on Trading 212 for corporates here. Companies should also be on Interactive Investor’s Community, eToro social, and more! Lots to share.
📥 Want to support TEA’s work? See our deck and DM AGM@teaxall.org.