AIM-pocalypse: Number of £1bn firms on junior market falls to nine-year low
Only six companies listed on London’s junior market AIM are worth more than £1bn, the lowest level for the exchange in nine years.
The number of companies worth over £1bn has dropped by 80 per cent since the start of 2022 and almost halved over the last year, according to data from the London Stock Exchange.
Of the 30 firms worth more than £1bn on AIM at the start of 2022, seven have been taken over, three have moved to the London Stock Exchange’s main market, and the rest have seen their market capitalisation fall below the £1bn level.
One of the current six £1bn companies, Gamma Communications, has already announced plans to move to the main market midway through this year, leaving only five large companies on AIM.
“The last time AIM ended a calendar year with less than six stocks worth in excess of £1bn was 2015,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
“There were only four qualifying names at that point: ASOS, Abcam, New Europe Property Investments and Hutchison China.”
AIM companies at record low
The total number of companies on AIM at the end of 2024 hit the lowest level in 23 years, with only 688 firms listed on the stock exchange. This is down from a peak of nearly 1,700 in 2007.
As well as a heightened number of exits, a dearth of IPOs has also sapped numbers from the junior market, with 2024 recording the second lowest number of IPOs in AIM’s history.
“AIM needs a reboot if it is to stay relevant for another 30 years,” added Coatsworth.
“The London Stock Exchange, FCA and government need to consider more incentives for companies to list on AIM and ways to attract a broader pool of investors to want to own the shares.”