There’s still steady growth to come

8 September 2007

One of the reasons it will take that long is that there are sectors, such as natural resources, which are ripe for consolidation;

There is just one fact you need to know about London's Alternative Investment Market (Aim). The top 10 Aim companies are now worth £10.4bn, more than the value of the whole of the Aim market at the end of 2002.

Aim is in its12th year and has certainly come a long way. The size of companies on Aim is likely to continue to increase as the market matures; but there will continue to be a flow of smaller companies as well.

The history of Aim is not one of a smooth upward ascent. There have been times when the quality of companies has been criticised, as it is today. When the London Stock Exchange (LSE) launched techMARK at the end of the 1990s, commentators wondered whether Aim still had a role. But it has managed to come through and consolidate its position.

The key to Aim's future is twofold: it needs to provide companies with the ability easily to raise expansion capital while keeping investors happy that a sufficient level of policing is being maintained. An important part of this is making sure that the quality of companies joining Aim improves.

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