Choosing your advisers

The Nominated Adviser (Nomad), broker and other advisers play a central role in a company’s admission to AIM. It is important that a company is confident that it can establish a good working relationship with the appointed Nomad as they will be working closely together at admission and on an ongoing basis. In choosing its advisers, a company will want to ensure that they:

• understand its business
• have appropriate experience in the sector
• share the company's vision for the future.

The role of Nominated Advisers

Nomads are corporate finance advisers approved by the London Stock Exchange to act in this capacity. To obtain approval as Nomad, a firm must meet the eligibility criteria set out in the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers.

A Nomad is responsible for advising and guiding a company on its responsibilities in relation to its admission to AIM as well as its continuing obligations once on market. To help fulfil this role, the Nomad will:

• undertake extensive due diligence to ensure a company is suitable for AIM
• provide guidance throughout the flotation process                                                    
• prepare the company for being on a public market
• help prepare the AIM admission document
• confirm appropriateness of the company to the Exchange
• act as the primary regulator throughout a company's time on AIM.

Search our approved register of Nomads

The role of brokers

A broker is a securities house and a member of the London Stock Exchange. The broker’s role is to:

• assess the level of investor interest in a company's AIM securities, at admission and in the run-up to any further issues provide advice on market and trading related issues
• advise on market and trading related issues
• advise on the pricing of shares and investment opportunities.

Under the AIM Rules for Companies, every AIM company must retain a broker at all times. Often the Nomad firm will also have a broker team and a company may wish to appoint the same firm as Nomad and broker. In such case, the firm will need to ensure adequate safeguards to avoid potential conflict of interest from arising between the two advisory services.

Downloads
AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers (file pdf - 1 MB)
AIM Rules for Companies (file pdf - 10 MB)