On the eve of its Silver Anniversary, AIM is ready to celebrate
At the end of May 2020 there were 832 companies on AIM, with the total market value £98.6bn. This compares to 840 companies at the end of April 2020 when AIM’s market value was £88.5bn. As was to be expected in the lock-down period, there were no new arrivals in the month and eight departures.
AIM, which was originally called the Alternative Investment Market, was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market that had been in operation since 1980. At launch, AIM comprised only 10 companies valued collectively at £82.2m, with only one survivor, closed ended investment company Athelney Trust (LON:ATY), currently remaining from the original 10. Thankfully, the quality of companies on AIM has improved substantially over the years, with the vast majority offering considerably greater ambition and growth potential than Athelney Trust, whose valuation has climbed to only £4m in the 25 years. The AIM index rose…