AIM market shows further signs of recovery with 16 IPOs in past year – a three year high | Insights

Press release featured in the Daily Mail and The i.

The number of companies listing on AIM has risen to 16 in 2024/25 (year end July 31), up from just nine last year.

The average amount of new money raised per initial public offering (IPO) was £9.9m in 2024/25, a bounce from the low of £6.8m recorded in 2022/23.

The increase in new issues suggests that the AIM market is emerging from a prolonged slowdown. This recovery is an indication that optimism is returning amongst both businesses considering listing on AIM and investor sentiment towards IPOs.

Colin Wright, UHY UK group chairman, says the uptick in AIM’s fundraising success should help ease recent fears that the London Stock Exchange is failing to attract its fair share of IPOs and is losing out to European markets.

Colin Wright: “The UK stock market is at last emerging from a lengthy period of underperformance. The low number of IPOs is linked to that poor stock market performance.”

“We are starting to see green shoots of recovery in the AIM market with an increase in the number of IPOs in the last year. Even in a tough economic environment, some ambitious businesses are finding investors ready to back them. That should give confidence to other companies considering a listing.”

“What’s also encouraging is that the average amount of money raised per listing is increasing again.”

AIM continues to play a central role in Europe’s growth markets, accounting for 53% of all capital raised across European growth markets over the past five years**. However, the market remains far below its peak in 2006/07 when there were 310 IPOs.

Earlier this summer the London Stock Exchange closed a consultation on a package of reforms that should make AIM more attractive to companies considering a public listing. Proposals such as reducing reporting costs, simplifying admission requirements, and broadening the range of accepted accounting standards are aimed at attracting more IPOs to AIM.

Adds Colin: “Reforms that reduce costs and simplify admission requirements would make AIM far more accessible to ambitious growth companies.”

“AIM remains a unique part of the UK’s capital markets, and growth in the market is important for the wider economy — especially if we want to see more of our start-ups stay in the UK rather than heading overseas.”