Key facts

Number of companies trading on AIM as at 28 March 2013

1,092

Total funds raised on AIM in three months to 28 March 2013

£629m

Number of companies trading on Main Market as at 28 March 2013

1,316

Total funds raised on Main Market in three months to 28 March 2013

£3,769m

Market commentary

AIM

AIM: Number of admissions

  • Number of listed companies has decreased in Q1 2013.
  • The number of admissions in Q1 2013 has increased to 15 from 14 in Q1 2012.
  • Number of companies on AIM is at a similar level as March 2005.
  • Average market cap of an AIM company increased to £58.1m in March 2013 from £56.3m at the end of December 2012. This has decreased from £61.1m at the end of March 2012.

Market movements

  • FTSE AIM All-Share Index increased 3.4% in Q1 2013 to 731.1 (0.2% increase in Q4 2012).

Summary statistics

Main market

  • There has been a decrease in new money raised from £2,727m in Q4 2012 to £1,580m in Q1 2013.
  • The number of companies has fallen from 1,327 at 31 December 2012 to 1,316 at 28 March 2013.
  • The amount of further money raised has increased from £1,395m in Q4 2012 to £2,189.2m in Q1 2013.

Market movements

  • FTSE All-Share increased 9.3% in Q1 2013 (3.1% increase in Q4 2012).

Summary statistics

Conclusions

The year began positively, with the same number of admissions in Q1 2013 on AIM as there were in Q4 2012, and the FTSE AIM All-Share index increased by 3.4% to 731.1. Compared to Q1 2012, new money raised from IPOs in Q1 2013 increased by 127.3% to £125m (Q1 2012: £55m), demonstrating increasing investor confidence in the AIM IPO market.

New money raised on the Main Market in Q1 2013 increased by 283.5% to £1,580m compared to £412m raised in Q1 2012. Investor appetite for participation in Main Market IPOs appears to be improving significantly as is general market sentiment, with the FTSE All-Share index increasing by 9.3% in Q1 2013.

Overall both AIM and Main Market have shown positive growth in their indices with increases in new money raised; with new capital raised more evenly distributed across the sectors than in the prior year. The general market view is that there is still considerable upside in equity capital markets in 2013 as evidenced by a strong pipeline of both headline Main Market and AIM transactions.

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