Circumstances govern cases, and the advertisement contractor is the person to make an appropriate selection of newspapers in which to adver tise a prospectus. Some companies would receive no support from certain localities, while capital would be freely subscribed in others. The size of the garment has to be regulated by the amount of cloth at disposal, but, putting it roughly, an expenditure of £1000 will be necessary for an issue of £50,000, £1500 for £100,000, and £2000 to £5000 for over £100,000. This is for newspapers alone.
Printing, postage, wrapping and packing of prospectuses average £6 per thousand inclusive, according to the number of pages and insets in the prospectus, and it is advisable to send out from 50,000 to 150,000 to assist in the success of the issue. Advertising in the newspapers is of little use unless assisted by a plentiful dissemination of prospectuses, and vice versa, a large outlay on printing accompanied by the stinting of the advertising would be fatal.
At is the usual practice to submit proofs of the complete prospectus, if time permits, set up in newspaper type in either single, double or treble column form. These, after a very careful and elaborate system of checking and reading with the final prospectus as registered at Somerset House, form the copy on which each individual order is given, stating plainly the exact space the advertisement should occupy, the position (whether ordinary or next to the Money Article), and the date of appearance in the news papers. Extreme care has to be observed in checking proofs and issuing copy, as in the event of an error occurring, the advertising contractor's position would certainly not be an enviable one, and might perhaps be disastrous to the success of the prospectus being issued.
In many cases, notably new processes and inventions, preliminary notices are of great utility, and should by no means be neglected if success is to be ensured. These matters should receive very careful attention, and if entrusted to a responsible agent to arrange, will be found most productive of successful results. Advance notices must be short, yet full of the salient points of the prospectus to be issued, as in the following instance : The Prospectus will shortly be issued of The Whetstone Tin Mining Corpora tion, Limited. The Company has been formed with a capital of £100,000 divided
into 100,000 shares of £1 each, 75,000 of which will be offered for subscription at Par. The Board, which is an extremely strong one, comprises some of the best known authorities on Tin, and it is anticipated that under their direction the Company should enjoy a long and prosperous career. The Company's operations will extend over a considerable area in East Africa, over which they have obtained exclusive rights, and arrangements have been made to commence work as soon as possible.
At one time the public issues dragged on their weary way for a fortnight before closing the lists ; but recent experience has shown that if sufficient capital for allotment is not procured in three days, it will not come at all, and perhaps some more attractive investment may come out, and withdrawals follow.
During the past few years it has been found that a successful innovation could be made on the old-established method of advertising an industrial issue by inserting an advance advertisement notice, in large type, announcing the imminent issue of a prospectus. This has the advantage of stirring up public interest before the exact details of the business are known, and is to be recommended to promoters of companies dealing with either combina tions of existing concerns or with complete novelties, and has been found especially useful in the conversions of well-known industrial businesses, or the issue of further capital in such concerns.
Since the present law came into operation, there has also arisen the practice of inserting all the essential parts of the prospectus, omitting many legal details, with the statement that it is an "abridged prospectus," and indicating where the complete prospectus can be procured by intending subscribers. In cases where no public invitation to subscribe for capital is intended to be made, a statement officially advertised, showing the nature of the contemplated operations of the company and other salient features, may with advantage be made "for public information only," thus avoiding one of the most obvious objections to "no prospectus" companies, both on the part of the Press and the public.