AIM Report 2019

9 MARKET UPDATE FUNDRAISING UPDATE AIM IS STILL POPULAR The May 2019 figures showed there were 901 companies listed on AIM, with a total market value of £104.079 billion. While there were 22 fewer companies listed than in 2018, the increased market value reflects the returning investor confidence to AIM after the volatility seen in the fourth quarter of 2018. 1 The number of companies listed on AIM has now fallen every year since 2007, when the figure stood at 1,694. While 2016 saw a higher reduction in international companies as the Brexit vote filtered through, there is now no discernable difference in the reductions between UK companies and overseas companies. In May 2019 there were 14 fewer UK companies listed (767) compared to the end of 2018, while there were 12 fewer international companies (134) than at the end of 2018. A number of factors, including small business market sentiment and the propensity for larger firms to buy up smaller companies at a younger stage in the search for higher growth, may be at play here. This means that there are fewer companies, but with a growing average value. These signs have to be seen as encouraging for a growth market. Marcus Stuttard, Head of UK Primary Markets & AIM at London Stock Exchange, told us in July 2019 that an important factor here is the way in which the London Stock Exchange works with the small business community “in a joined up fashion”. He pointed to government initiatives such as the British Business Bank, meaning that a “vibrant equity funding market for growth companies” now exists for funding to be raised from a variety of different sources. “As AIM has matured and the pool of capital continues to deepen, some of the larger investors that haven’t typically invested in growth companies are looking at AIM,” Stuttard added. “That is also contributing to larger transactions and companies on the market.” MARKET VALUE AND FUNDRAISING SOURCE: LSE AT MAY 2019 1995 20,000 500 0 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019 No. of companies Market Value (£m) Market value (£m) Number of companies ”AIM offers a breadth of opportunity for investors, from micro-cap all the way up to the billion-pound company.” — DR DAN APPLEBY, ASSISTANT INVESTMENT MANAGER, BLACKFINCH