The 30th anniversary of the AIM market seems more marked by introspection than celebration. The market managed in the aftermath of the Trump Tariff sell-off to plummet to a 50% fall from its 2021 high, albeit there has been a strong recovery since then. Delistings continue. The London Stock Exchange’s claim that “over the last 5 years, 45% of all capital raised on European growth markets has been on AIM” is more a reflection of a common malaise across Europe than a matter of pride for the UK.
Whilst in the first half of the year AIM outperformed the broader UK markets (ignoring dividends, which would have reduced the gap), the longer-term underperformance has been very poor. The AIM 100 index rose 7.1% in H1: the AIM All share up 6.7%. The FTSE 100 was up 6% and the Mid250 up 4.6%. On a five-year view the numbers are down 18.6%, down 13.5%, up 42% and up 24.8%.
We asked leading market guru, ChatGPT, if the tide had turned. It suggested some reasons for optimism (see the AI-generated words, not ours, in green). Certainly, unpicking these opinions provides a necessary corrective, which we have provided below each reason.
“Research from boutique broker Turner Pope indicates that AIM is currently “dramatically oversold,” trading nearly 40% below its 10-year average. This valuation gap suggests potential for a market correction, especially as economic conditions improve and investor sentiment stabilizes.”
It is usually simplest to assume that a trend will stay in place till its underlying causes change. Mean reversion is glib but not useful as a predictive tool. Undervaluation can and does persist. The mean will converge on the trend over time, rather than in some magical way changing the trend’s direction. So, looking positively, the modest recovery so far this year may suggest the time has turned. Turner Pope is incidentally a small firm active in the microcap sector.
“Liquidity on AIM has been gradually improving. In May 2025, the market saw the highest percentage of market value traded since June 2021. Additionally, the number of new company joiners and the amount of capital raised are moving up, albeit from very subdued levels.”
Yes, this is encouraging. Though the trading activity is symmetrical – buyers and sellers must match. Poor performance of the market has led to a shrinkage of specialist funds investing in AIM: retail investors tend not to be contrarian. So, for example Premier Miton’s UK Smaller Companies Fund (Gervais Williams is co-manager) shrank from £55m to £40m in the year to 31 March.
“Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity on AIM is picking up. In 2024, 28 AIM companies were acquired, with 11 of those bids coming from private equity firms. This trend indicates that investors are recognizing value in AIM-listed companies, potentially leading to a more active market.”
Yes, M&A is having an increasing impact as the market shrinks – at the margin.
The 27 companies taken out in the year to March represented 4% of the starting total number of companies listed on AIM, vs the 33 in 2014-15 only 3%.
In Q1 this year Peel Hunt estimated that the bids on AIM represented 1% of the number but 3% of the value of the market.
“The Bank of England is expected to lower interest rates through the rest of 2025, which could positively impact AIM. Historically, AIM’s fortunes have closely tracked UK base rates, and rate cuts could provide a favorable environment for growth stocks.”
Hmm…the government’s inability to control spending rather militates against significant interest rates cuts. If you do believe they are coming, then the bond market may be the place to lock in returns. And it’s not clear what economic support is being made available to AIM companies.
“There are ongoing efforts to reform the UK’s capital markets to support smaller companies. Initiatives like the Mansion House Compact encourage major UK pension schemes to allocate a portion of their assets to private equity and early-stage companies, which could bring much-needed liquidity back into the market.”
Double hmmm….The previous administration’s Mansion House agenda has been followed but it is unclear as to what practical effect it is having- in theory AIM shares will count towards institutions’ weighting in private assets. They may prefer to buy entirely private instruments so as not to be affected by valuation swings. The AIM Malaise is to some extent an extension, a fortiori, of UK institutions’ reluctance to invest in their home market. The government seems happy to grant tax breaks to pension funds and ISAs irrespective of whether the cash flows to Nvidia or stays at home.
There has been strong pushback from institutions at any restriction on their freedom to manoeuvre. We continue to see reductions in UK exposure: earlier this month Scottish Widows was revealed to be cutting its managed pension funds’ exposure from 12% to 3%.
Moreover, the reduction of IHT reliefs on AIM shares was bad enough, but Angela Rayner’s leaked proposal to remove it entirely is worse- and she is widely tipped to succeed Keir Starmer if he loses his grip on power.
However, the so-called “working capital” raises, which are just to staunch losses, and raises to support apparently open-ended R&D projects, remain very difficult.
Transaction Manager
Alexia Rottet joined LGB in October 2025 as a Transaction Manager. Prior to LGB, she gained real estate experience by participating in the valuation of a property portfolio for A2immo.ch SA as a financial analyst, as well as working at Form Structural Design as an office manager. Alexia holds an MA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and a BA in International Relations.
Assistant Relationship Manager
Ruby joined LGB in December 2024 as an Assistant Relationship Manager for our investing clients. Prior to LGB, Ruby worked at FHIRST, a start-up where she collaborated with the co-founders on revenue growth and improving client experiences. Ruby graduated with a First-Class degree in History from Durham University.
Finance Manager
Following a degree reading Chemistry at The Queen’s College, Oxford, Antonia trained to become a chartered accountant at a London-based audit firm. She then moved into the tax sector joining EY and completing the chartered tax adviser qualification. She then gained further experience working as a finance director within industry at a family office / hedge fund.
Programme size: £20m
Establishment Date: December 2017
Number of issues: 12
Sector: Marine tracking
Focus: Maritime surveillance and management
Programme size: £25m
Establishment Date: XX 2017
Number of issues: 20
Sector: Financial services
Focus: Loans and leasing
Associate Director
Omar joined LGB in February 2026 as an Associate Director in the Capital Markets team. He brings over five years of experience from NatWest, where he worked across the Leveraged Finance Origination and Portfolio Management teams. During this time, he supported a broad range of businesses from venture-backed to large-cap companies, with a primary focus on the mid-market. His experience was sector agnostic, and the majority of the companies he worked with were sponsor-backed, giving him extensive exposure to private equity-led transactions and capital structures. Omar holds a degree in Accounting and Finance from The London School of Economics & Political Science and is a Chartered Banker.
Adviser
Charles has played an important role in developing LGB & Co.’s investment approach by encouraging a focus on investing in businesses with strong IP or know-how with recurring revenue business models that can prosper throughout economic cycles. Charles brings over 30 years’ experience of investing in privately-owned and publicly-listed small and mid-market companies. He is a director of Larpent Newton & Co. and Hygea VCT plc. Charles qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Peat Marwick, now part of KPMG.
Adviser
Lisa has worked with LGB since 2015 in supporting the on-going cultural and organisational development of the firm, providing advice on strategic people matters. Since 2006, Lisa has been running her own consultancy and executive coaching business, People Possibilities Ltd. Her work is focused on supporting clients at an organisational, team and individual level to enable high performance,improve leadership capability and effect cultural and behavioural change. Previously Lisa has held senior HR leadership positions with Schroders, ABN AMRO and HSBC. Lisa graduated from the University of Birmingham with an honours degree in International Relations & French. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and a qualified Executive Coach.
Chairman
Simon became non-executive Chairman of the Board of LGB & Co. with a focus on growth and strategic initiatives in December 2025. Simon has extensive experience in capital markets and wealth management. He previously ran the client and investment business of Heartwood and became Chief Executive in 2008. He led its well-regarded acquisition by Handelsbanken in 2013. Simon subsequently became NED and Chair of AIM-listed WH Ireland Group PLC. He was also asked to represent the wealth management sector on the FCA Smaller Business Practitioner Panel from 2013-2016.
Capital Markets Director
Fergus advises corporate clients looking to raise debt and equity capital. He is also responsible for the execution and ongoing management of LGB’s MTN Programmes. Fergus joined LGB in 2019 having started his career at Lloyds Banking Group on the graduate training programme, before moving to the Leveraged Finance division, where he focused on transactions with mid-market corporates and PE firms. Fergus holds an MSc in Petroleum Geology from the University of Aberdeen.
Associate Director
Megan joined LGB in 2021 as a Relationship Manager. She is responsible for all day-to-day transactions with investment clients and oversees the LGB Investments Platform and Deal Hub. Prior to LGB, Megan worked at Puma Investments, a tax-efficient investment provider, in the sales and investor services team. Megan graduated from the University of Bath with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, and has obtained the CISI Level 4 Diploma in Investment Advice.
Investment Director
Ivan is LGB’s Investment Director: he is responsible for developing LGB’s investment proposition in the context of the broader market and economic developments. He regularly meets individual company management teams to seek out and monitor investment opportunities. Ivan has served as a senior adviser to the Equity Division of Société Générale, and was previously Managing Director in charge of equity sales for them in London. Earlier in his career, Ivan worked at Morgan Stanley, Lazards and Schroders. He has degrees in history from Cambridge University & London University, and an MBA from Cass Business School.
Managing Director
Simone joined LGB in 2012 and is responsible for LGB & Co.’s business with institutional investors, wealth managers and sophisticated private investors. Simone’s team provides access to a range of compelling investment opportunities with a particular emphasis on structuring laddered portfolios of fixed income. In addition, the team manages portfolios of clients who have entered into advisory agreements with LGB Investments, and advises the fund managers of the Guernsey-based LGB SME Private Debt Fund. Prior to joining LGB & Co., Simone worked in the institutional fixed income department of Citigroup Global Markets. She began her career at Citigroup Private Bank in Geneva. Simone graduated from the University of Lausanne with a degree in HEC, Business Administration. She is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments and a Director of LGB.
CEO
Cedric was appointed CEO in July 2022 after a period of 18 months as a COO. Cedric spent 15 years working on the energy and commodities sales and trading desks for global banks (BNP Paribas, BAML and MUFG). He gained extensive international exposure, being based in London and Singapore and covering transactions in all geographic regions. Cedric graduated from Global Executive MBA at INSEAD in 2018 and started working in the capital markets space for growth-stage companies. He is also a director of LGB.
Managing Director, Capital Markets
Andrew founded LGB & Co. in 2005 and is managing the Capital Markets team. He has a particular focus on the development of strategic relationships with corporate clients and business partners. Prior to founding LGB & Co., Andrew was a Managing Director at Citigroup Global Markets, where he was responsible for its fixed-income business with private banks and retail institutions. Earlier in his career Andrew worked at Schroders in London and Tokyo. Andrew graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Modern History. He is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.