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London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
By Gerald Turner, Focus Enterprises

Virtually unknown in the US until a couple of years ago, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the junior market of the London Stock Exchange, has started to attract serious attention from US companies looking to raise capital.

As of year end 2005 there were about 1400 companies listed on AIM. Of these, 220 were non-UK companies, from 25 countries – the first Chinese listing took place in Spring 2005.There were 29 companies from the US, of which 20 were added in 2005.

Through the first quarter, the pace of listing has accelerated and, barring malign macro-economic influences, 2006 promises to add more than the 500 companies admitted to the market in 2005. In particular, 2006 is likely to be a year in which a record number of US companies trek across the pond for a listing.

There are several reasons for the high degree of interest in the AIM today. In the article located at http://www.focusenterprises.com/publications/newsletter_2006_may.asp, Gerald Turner from FOCUS Enterprises details six solid reasons for the growing interest in AIM, and describes the steps US firms need to take in order to participate successfully.