Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has announced today its quarterly review of the AIM market, which highlights a 15% increase in new listings in the second quarter, as well as a doubling of related fundraising from £0.3bn to £0.6bn, compared with the first quarter of the year.

John Hammond, capital markets partner at Deloitte commented: “Following a dismal start to the year - the worst quarter recorded in three years - quarter two saw a rebound in admissions and fundraisings on AIM.  While the overall outlook for the market remains overcast, the improvement seen in Q2 shows that there is investor appetite for the right businesses with the right niche.  Even businesses that have a good story to tell are brave to attempt to list in the current climate but if the opportunity stacks up, they are being rewarded with investor support.  The industries that are proving resilient are indicative of the overall economic environment with oil, gas and natural resources related companies the most popular sector, making up around 30% of new admissions.”

Richard Thornhill, capital markets director, added: “The last quarter saw five AIM companies transfer onto the main list; the highest number in a year.  Despite the economic backdrop, there is clear evidence that successful companies on AIM are still able to grow and mature such that they can achieve main list status.  This doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that AIM is definitely on the way back to the success experienced in previous years, as overall levels of activity remain a mere 25% of last year’s figures (new fundraisings of £2.4bn in Q2 2007 and £0.6bn in Q2 2008). 

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