AIM - funding bold growth ambitions

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) on AIM lets you raise capital by issuing new shares or enabling existing shareholders to sell to new investors. It can help diversify your ownership base while providing a powerful tool to incentivise and align your management team and key employees. IPOs also enable you to enhance your company’s profile and support trading in your shares following admission.

To discuss whether an IPO is right for your business, contact our team at the London Stock Exchange.

To prepare for an IPO your business needs to be in good shape. The availability of your most up-to-date audited accounts influences the IPO transaction timetable.

You’ll need a defined business plan and growth strategy, robust financial reporting, accounting and disclosure and a clear capital structure or dividend policy. You should also have a transparent corporate structure and governance with secure internal controls and systems.

Selecting the right advisory team is one of the most important steps to joining AIM. Central to this is your nominated adviser, who will guide you through the IPO process and assess your suitability for the market.

Your wider advisory team will also include legal counsel, reporting accountants, brokers. Together, they will help you shape your equity story, prepare your admission documentation and establish a realistic timetable with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

Choosing advisers with the right experience and a strong understanding of your business is critical. Our nominated advisers directory can help you find the right partner.

Your nominated adviser will help you navigate each stage of the application to AIM. Working closely with your wider internal and advisory team, they will support the preparation of your admission document and guide you through the regulatory requirements.

From shaping your equity story to coordinating documentation, this is a structured, well-managed process. As regulation on AIM is managed by a dedicated team within the London Stock Exchange, the application process can be relatively streamlined.

Your corporate broker will work with you to market your company to potential investors. They’ll help you prepare for investor presentations as part of a formal roadshow. A broker with experience of your industry can stimulate investor interest both at the point of IPO and once you are quoted on AIM, enhancing trading in your shares and maintaining your company’s profile.

Your first day as a public company is often celebrated by opening trading with a ceremony at the London Stock Exchange. Your shares will then be available for public trading and life on the market begins.

We have a dedicated team to support companies on our markets, and upon admission you will be introduced to Issuer Services. From there, we will help you set up your company’s page on our website, and access the broad range of services and data products we offer.

After the IPO, you must retain a nominated adviser. Your corporate broker will remain an important part of your team. They will continue to work with you on, for example, corporate transactions, capital structure and dividend policy and support you with a wider investor relations (IR) strategy.

In addition, publishing an annual report and disclosing material, price-sensitive information to the market are two key continuing obligations for all companies on London Stock Exchange’s markets.