Press Room.
Funds raised on AIM dip in Q1 but soar year-on-year
The total value of funds raised on the AIM market in the first
quarter of 2010 dropped by 38% to £247 million which was raised by
17 companies (Q4 2009: £396 million raised by 18 companies),
according to the latest AIM analysis by leading financial and
business advisor Grant Thornton UK LLP.
However, the value of funds raised increased
by a staggering 82 times year-on-year; in Q1 2009 only £3 million
was raised by just four companies.
"It is encouraging that more money has been
raised on AIM in the last two quarters than in any comparable
period since the collapse of Lehman Brothers," commented Philip
Secrett, Partner at the Capital Markets practice of Grant Thornton
UK LLP.
Comparable figures were last achieved in the
first quarter of 2008, when 32 companies raised £290 million on
AIM. This was a steep drop compared to the first quarter of
2007, when 54 companies raised more than £1.1 billion.
"Sadly, very few traditional trading companies
are benefiting as they continue to find it difficult to raise money
on AIM. In the last five years, fundraising on AIM has been
dominated by the financial sector, mainly property and private
equity funds, and by mining and other natural resources
groups/"
"The main problem is the valuation gap -
entrepreneurs are holding out for pre-crunch valuations while
institutional investors continue to be very risk averse and seem to
be holding out for bargains with a positive track record as well as
outstanding growth prospects," Philip Secrett concluded.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Alexander Wessendorff, Grant Thornton press
office, 020 7728 2048