AIM Insights: Review of AIM for the Six Months to December 2016

The second half of 2016 was dominated by two geopolitical events: the aftermath of the UK’s decision to leave the EU and the election of Donald Trump. Both resulted in marked changes in key economic statistics. In the UK, the fall in the value of Sterling was the most noticeable economic consequence of the Brexit vote while in America, Trump’s campaign promise to invest in US infrastructure resulted in an increase in US bond yields and long term interest rates and a strengthening of the US dollar.

With dire warnings of the consequences of a leave vote, most business commentators feared an immediate slowdown in the UK economy. The initial reaction of markets and business leaders was to pause for breath and wait to see how events would unfold. But after the initial shock, the UK economy continued its relatively healthy performance for the rest of the year, buoyed by robust consumer confidence, although the lack of clarity over the nature of the UK’s exit continued to result in uncertainty for investors.

After a difficult 2015 and a modest recovery in IPO activity in the first half of the year, the last thing AIM and the capital markets needed was a further bout of uncertainty. In the seventh edition of AIM Insights, its six monthly survey of the AIM market, the BDO capital markets team considers the performance of AIM and AIM listed companies for the six months ended 31 December 2016 against this unique economic backdrop.

We investigate how AIM has performed relative to the FTSE All Share. What have been the trends in the number and size of AIM listed companies and how successful have they been in raising equity funds? Which sectors have been most in demand and which advisers have been most active?

Download BDO's AIM Insights for a review of AIM for the six months to December 2016.