Corporate
“A class act – they don’t cloud things in legal smoke.” Chambers & Partners
AIM expertise
AIM is the London Stock Exchange's international market for growing companies. Since its launch in 1995, over 2,900 companies have joined AIM and it has become the major exchange for mid-market capital raising in Europe. At the end of 2009 there were over 1,600 companies listed with nearly 350 of those being from overseas. The attraction of the AIM market comes partly from being treated as unquoted for tax purposes in the UK and partly from the less stringent entry requirements and lighter regulatory regime after admission.
Companies considering an AIM listing need to understand the process and the commercial implications of admission. The issues to be considered include:-
- strengthening the board to take account of corporate governance guidelines;
- choosing an appropriate advisory team;
- the need for a pre-admission corporate restructuring;
- establishing appropriate employee incentive arrangements;
- investor relations following admission;
- understanding the post-admission regulatory regime and the continuing obligations of an AIM company; and
- the costs and management resources involved in the admission process.
Our AIM team works with a wide selection of mid-market companies (both UK and overseas) in considering the opportunities of an AIM admission. The team has extensive knowledge of the AIM community of professional advisers — brokers, nominated advisers, accountants and bankers. We can provide guidance on many of the key issues and assist in building the advisory team. Following admission, our AIM team has the expertise to provide a full range of corporate finance legal advice.