AIM Grows For First Time In Six Years As IPOs Return

LONDON (Alliance News) – London’s AIM equities market grew for the first time in six years in the third quarter, with more companies listing on the UK junior market than leaving it, a survey showed Monday.

A total of 20 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market in the three months to end-September, while 16 de-listed, the first positive balance since the third quarter of 2007, according to research from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.

Over the past 12 months, companies have raised GBP881 million by listing on AIM, the research showed, up 70% from GBP520 million in the previous 12 months, but well below the GBP8.8 billion raised during the equivalent period in 2006/2007.

“There’s a definite sense of optimism around AIM at present. Returning to growth for the first time since the credit crunch is a very significant moment for the market”, UHY Hacker Young Partner Laurence Sacker said. “The number and value of IPOs have both grown quarter-on-quarter throughout 2013, and the deal pipeline is looking healthy. 2014 could turn out to be a real bounceback year for AIM, although getting back to the level of new listings we saw during the boom years remains a pretty remote prospect.”

Sizeable companies are increasingly choosing to list on AIM. The biggest listings over the last quarter included the GBP50 million float of online options trading group Plus500, and the GBP47 million listing of Eastern European commercial property fund Globalworth Real Estate.

As Alliance News reported last month, AIM has been in focus recently as a result of changes in the rules of Individual Savings Accounts. From August 5, investors have been allowed to include AIM listed securities in their ISAs for the first time, causing an increase in trading volume.

By Jon Darby; jondarby@alliancenews.com; @jondarby100